


Reset

by bananas_are_good_9



Series: Reset [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Cliffhangers, Experimentation, F/M, Headaches, Kidnapping, Poor Mickey, Post Episode: s05e13 The Big Bang, Reunions, Temporary Amnesia, Temporary Character Death, Torture, poor Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-02-21 11:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 40,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2466698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananas_are_good_9/pseuds/bananas_are_good_9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Doctor flew the Pandorica into the heart of the burning TARDIS, it did a little more than reset the universe. It reset the universes. Everything was put back into its proper universe. Only by everything, I should say everyone... 11/Rose reunion fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Big Bang 2

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this forever ago and posted it on ff.net. I'm going to be cleaning it up and posting it here as well so I'll hopefully have regular postings...

"Doctor! It's speeding up!" River shouted.

"There's going to be a very big bang. Big Bang Two." The Doctor focused on Amy, not liking how little time he had left with her. In this reality at least. "Try and remember your family and they'll be there."

"How can I remember them if they never existed?" Amy asked sadly, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want to hear about the Doctor's impossible imaginings, not now.

"Because you're _special_. That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe was pouring into your head. You brought Rory back. You can bring them back too. You just remember, and they'll be there." He whispered, trying to give his best friend all the strength she would be needing. It crushed his hearts when she stood up and began to back away.

"But you won't." she said firmly. The tears she had been holding back now threatened to fall.

"You'll have your family back. You won't need your imaginary friend anymore." He tried weakly, giving a small smile for what Amy used to think of him, and probably will once again. He felt the shoulder restraints come down and he knew his time was running thin. "Amy Pond, crying over me, eh? Guess what?"

"What?"

"Gotcha." He said sadly as the walls of the Pandorica began to close. Amy watched as the Pandorica began to shake and glow. She vaguely heard River shout as she was pushed out of the way and onto the floor with Rory following them. They all watched as the Pandorica launched itself through the glass dome and barreled through the sky toward the burning TARDIS. Just as it was out of sight, River's communicator beeped. She looked down at it, puzzled at how she could receive a message.

"It's from the Doctor." She said, surprise in her voice.

"What does it say?" Amy asked, eyes not leaving the hole the Pandorica left. She looked down at the communicator when River didn't respond.

"Geronimo." River read sadly, a bit of fond annoyance creeping into her voice. The small group huddled together, their minds drifting as they waited to forget the life they had grown to love.


	2. Refresh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scale of the Doctor's actions is revealed and a mission begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...yeah. This has been a long time coming. I had more chapters posted for this story but I decided that they were pretty bad so I'm going to be doing a rewrite of this story. I was fifteen when I originally posted this story and while that isn't a very long time, my writing style has changed since then. I can only hope it changed for the better... Anyway, the original will still be posted on my fanfiction.net account but the better version (in my eyes anyway) will be posted here. Since I tend to ditch a story when I get a new idea, I've told myself I can only post this story and one other new story until this one is finished. Maybe that'll work.
> 
> I'll shut up now...

"Hey mum?".

"What is it sweetheart?"

"Have you seen my shoes?"

"Do you mean the cute little black ones?"

"Yea."

"Under your bed. How do I know more about where you put things than you do?" Jackie asked, appearing in her doorway, a small smile on her lips and a hand on her hip. "You're 24, Rose. You need to be more organized." She laughed at her daughter crouched on the floor, searching for her shoes.

"Hello pot, I’m kettle." Rose mumbled, straining to reach her shoes. How they had gotten so far under her bed was a mystery

"Oi, what was that now?"

"Nothing, nothing." Rose said as she stood, putting on the small heels. She stepped in front of a full length mirror to straighten her dress and check to make sure her hair and make-up were still intact

"Sure..." Jackie hummed, looking at her daughter's fancy dress. "Where's he taking you tonight?"

"You know that Greek restaurant by the Warf?" Rose asked, looking at Jackie through the mirror.

"With the fancy live music? Yea, who could miss it?" she paused, a slow smile creeping across her face. "What's he done that for?"

"Dunno." Rose replied, missing the tone of her mother's question. "Not that I can complain, he's never taken me anywhere as fancy as this."

“Hmm, wonder what he’s done that for.” Jackie mumbled to herself, her smile a full grin now. That boy would be good for her. Rose had been through enough and had worked hard to get to where she was now, she deserved some happiness.

"What are you going on about? Rose asked as she slid her earrings into her ears. Her mother just gave her a cheeky smile that made Roe suspicious. There was a knock at the door and Jackie went to answer it while Rose did some last minute touch ups. She smiled broadly as she opened the door.

"Hello Mr. Smith. What brings you here this fine evening." She joked loudly with the tall man.

"Well, Mrs. Tyler, I wish to call upon your daughter this very fine evening." He replied, just as loud, going along with her.

"I suppose I should ask you your intentions toward my daughter then."

"I would expect nothing less."

"I should never leave you two alone together." Rose called as the entered the living room, shaking her head. She joined them in the entryway and smiled at the man waiting for her.

"Shall we?" he asked, extending an arm.

"Yes, we shall." Rose laughed, looping her arm through his. They descended down the staircase with Jackie watching them go, the smile still on her face.

* * *

"Shut up, Dad!" Amy yelled, jerking up from the table.

"Amy?" Rory asked, concerned for his new bride.

"Amelia?" her father parroted.

"Sorry, but _shut up_ , please! There's someone missing, someone important. Someone so, _so_ important."

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory asked again.

"Sorry. Sorry everyone. But when I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend." Amy began, staring into the distance.

"Oh no, not this again." Amy's mother sighed.

"The raggedy Doctor. My raggedy Doctor. But he wasn't imaginary. He was real." She continued, ignoring her mother.

"The psychiatrists we sent her to!"

"I remember you!" she shouted. "I remember! I brought the others back, I can bring you home, too. Raggedy man, I remember you, and you are late for my wedding!" Amy shouted, growing angry. Rory looked around as the ground began to shake, causing glasses to clink together and the chandelier to sway. "I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story. The brand new, ancient blue box. Oh, clever. Very clever." The wind picked up and she heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS.

"Amy, what's happening?"

"Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue." Amy said as the TARDIS appeared in the middle of the floor.

* * *

 

 _Doctor_.

 

"Rose? You alright?" Mickey asked, his brow furrowing.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, looking down at the table. She felt like a fog had been lifted to reveal something, but she wasn't quite sure what yet.

"Can you answer my question please? I'm starting to cramp up here." Rose looked down at the sound of his voice and gasped. He was down on one knee, holding a beautiful ring out to her. Her hand flew to her mouth and she could only nod. His face split into a giant grin and he tried to stand to give her the ring and fell over. The tables around them had been watching at let out a small cheer, some laughing when Mickey fell.

"Oh my god! You alright?" She asked, giggling when she could tell he was just milking it. He laughed as well and stood up, reaching to place the ring on her finger. She smiled at it, moving it around on her finger until it was just right. She leaned in and kissed him, they pulled apart and Mickey moved to sit back in his seat. "Are you really okay?"

"What? You think I might need a doctor?" Rose gasped, her memories clicking in her mind, but he paid no mind to it and continued talking. "I mean, I could have pulled something." he looked down at Rose's blank expression. "Rose, are you alright?"

"Doctor."

"What?"

"Oh my god. The Doctor. How could I forget him?" She whispered. "Sorry, Mickey. I've got to go." She said, standing and running for the exit. She wasn't sure how she was going to find him, but she would. She had to find Jack. The last time they were able to talk, he told her about some of his escapades in Torchwood. Rose wasn't sure if she was in the correct universe but if Jack was here, he could help her.

 _John isn't here._ She thought with a pang as she rushed through the slightly crowded streets.  _So whatever happened either erased him, or I'm back. Again._

* * *

Rose regretted running around in her heels, not only did she run the risk of breaking the heel, they hurt like hell. As tempted a she was to take them off, Rose wasn't sure what was on the streets and she didn't want to find out later if she stepped on something sharp. She stopped running and looked around, panting slightly. She laughed weakly, relieved, when she recognized the place she had run to. It was where Torchwood was located. Well, the old Torchwood in her universe, she wasn't so sure about here. She looked up at the large tower that reminded her slightly of the Torchwood Tower, she wondered if it was some kind of monument of some sort. Rose walked towards it, sensing that there was something off about it. After walking in a circle around it, she heard something clunk into place and she spun around. A man was standing on a bit of cement with a grin that was so wide it challenged the smile that suddenly spread across her own face. Rose sprinted to him and nearly knocked them both off balance as she jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms tight around his shoulders as he spun them.

"Jack!" She cried happily, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Hey Rose." he replied, pressing a kiss into her hair. "You dress up like this just for me?" he asked cheekily as he set her down on the ground.

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's good to see you Jack. I've missed you."

"You too, Rose." He responded. "Do you want to head inside? It's a little cold out here." He said, looking at her bare arms. She nodded and he settled them on the center of the concrete square he had been standing on. Rose stepped close to him as they began descending. "A bit different from yours?"

Rose nodded. "We use the front door." Her eyes widened as a large shape flew over their heads as they were lowered into the main hub. _Was that a pterosaur?_

"Stuff a bit different there then?"

"Yeah." Rose told him about the Cyberman attack a few years prior. "Because of that, we don't need to hide as much." She shrugged. "Didn't tell 'em everything but it was a perk." Jack hummed and led them to a room that overlooked the hub, it looked like a conference room to Rose and she sat down on one of the many chairs, Jack claiming one next to her.

"So, what's new with you?" Rose asked him as he sat.

"Nothing much. Just protecting this universe from alien threats…You?"

"Well, so far, I can only remember what I've been doing up to this point, but it feels like a dream."

"Really? It looks like you've been pretty busy to me." Jack smirked, looking pointedly at Rose's left hand.

"Oh no, Mickey!" Rose gasped, quickly pulling her phone from her purse and dialing Mickey's number.

"Mickey?" Jack asked, brow furrowing.

"Yea," Rose said offhandedly as the dial tone began to ring. She waited until it went to voicemail. "He must be so mad at me." Rose sighed, putting away her mobile and staring out the window. Jack just stayed silent, knowing that it would all come out in time, juicy details as well. "'Bout half an hour ago, he was proposing to me." She said quietly, feeling very embarrassed suddenly. "Whatever has happened caused us to stay together. We've been going out for nearly eight years."

"So no Martha?" Jack asked.

"Martha? The doctor?"

Jack nodded. "When Mickey stayed in this universe, after... that whole mess we all went through." he said awkwardly. "They started dating. Last I heard, they had been married for a year."

"Oh, good for them!"

"Maybe he's searching for her and he's too busy to answer his phone."

"But when we were at the restaurant, I mentioned the Doctor and he looked like I had gone completely mad." she said.

"I'm guessing that everyone will remember him at different rates. I remembered him when I woke up this morning." Jack said. "It felt like nothing had changed." he explained at Rose's confused look.

"How could everyone forget him?" Rose asked. "What could he have done that would have been stupid enough for that?"

Jack laughed before he pulled out his mobile. "I don't suppose you'd want to find out?" he asked, a smirk on his face as he waved it.

"I thought of that when I was trying to find you. Would it still work with what's happened?"

"Only one way to find out. Besides I don't need my contacts." Jack shrugged as he tapped on the screen. "It's all up here." He gestured to his head. Rose watched anxiously as he finished dialing and lifted the phone to his ear. there was a moment of tense silence as they waiting for someone to answer. Suddenly, Jack's face lit up and he asked happily: "Hello! I don't suppose you're the Doctor?"

He paused when someone replied.

"Good, good. Would you tell him that Jack or Torchwood is calling? If he doesn't recognize the first - and if he did, I'd take offense - then he'd definitely recognize the second."

Another pause.

"Alright, thank you." Jack finished, pressing the phone against his shoulder before smiling at Rose. "Don't worry. His new companion is going to get him." He told her reassuringly. "It's a man, surprisingly. Maybe he regenerated and he's not into the pretty young girl thing anymore." Jack said with a waggle of his eyebrows. Rose sighed in relief, despite the joke. The Doctor was alive, he's okay.

"Oh, and you'd just love that." Rose said, grinning. Jack winked before a voice over the phone caught his attention.

"Doctor?" Jack asked. "It's Jack. Well, obviously. Look, something happened. For some reason everyone forgot everything about you. I figured that you had something to do with it."

Jack smiled at something the Doctor said. "Well, that sounds like a pretty good story, one that we'd like to hear. And by "we'd" I mean my team and such." There was a pause where Jack's smile got wider. "So I take it that you remember where to park her?"

Pause.

Jack looked at Rose as he ended the call.

"He's coming?" Rose asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Course. Even he couldn't resist a face like this." He said smugly. "We should get going." He stood and held his hand out to Rose. "But first, we should get you something better to wear." He pulled her out to the hallway. "Wait here a second." He ran into another room, his office maybe, and ran back out with a long coat, similar to his own, draped over his arm.

* * *

The Doctor walked up to a cryobox, staring in at the woman he's known all of seven days. "Her voice resonates perfectly with the ice crystals. It calmed the shark. It will calm the sky too." He punched in the code that would defrost Abigail.  
  
"Could you do it? Could you do this? Think about it Doctor. One last day with your beloved. Which day would you choose?" he asked as the door opened and she stepped out. The Doctor walked a ways to give them some privacy. When he was alone and in the quiet with his thoughts, before he could divert his thoughts with what was about to happen, he was thinking about what Sardick had said. The answer was any day. He would choose any day he could if it meant that he could see her again. It didn't matter if that day, he was the only thing she despised, he would see her again. His thoughts were interrupted when Abigail tapped him on the shoulder, asking what needed to be done.  
  
After everything was said and done, the Doctor had forgotten about the words said and was rubbing noses with a snowman when Amy and Rory walked up next to him.  
  
"You know, that could almost be mistaken for a real person. The snowman isn't bad either." She joked as he straightened.  
  
"Ah, yes, you two. About time. Why are you dressed like that?" he regarded their odd dress, both he hadn't seen in a while. Amy was dressed in her kiss-o-gram police outfit and Rory was in his Roman soldier armor.  
  
"Er," Rory started, not wanting to make the same mistake that he did on the ship, especially with the Doctor. "Kind of lost our luggage. Kind of crash landed?"  
  
"Yeah, but why are you dressed like that at all?"  
  
"Yeah, they really love their snowmen around here, don't they?" Amy said quickly, changing the subject. Rory shot her a thankful glance. "I've counted about twenty."  
  
Her plan worked, the Doctor was visibly distracted when he smiled. "Yeah, I've been busy."  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, you have."  
  
"Right, come on then, let's go." He said, leading the way to the TARDIS.  
  
"Got anymore honeymoon ideas?" Rory asked as they walked.  
  
"Well, there's a moon that's made of actual honey. Well, not actual honey, and it's not actually a moon, and technically it's alive, and a bit carnivorous, but there are some lovely views." The Doctor rambled, not realizing that he'd be the only one to enjoy it.  
  
"Yeah. Great. Thanks." Rory mumbled, regretting his decision to ask. Rory moved into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor and Amy outside. They leaned against her door frame, facing each other.  
  
"Are you, are you okay?" Amy asked after a beat of silence.  
  
"Of course I'm okay. You?"  
  
"Of course. It'll be their last day together, won't it?"  
  
"Everything has got to end sometime, otherwise nothing would ever get started." The Doctor said solemnly, obviously speaking from experience. Amy was about to ask him about it when Rory stuck his head out of the door.  
  
"Your phone was ringing. Someone by the name of Torchwood or Jack. He said he didn't know which you would recognize."  
  
The Doctor let out a small groan, rolling his eyes. "Alright, tell him I'll be in in a minute." Rory nodded before heading back inside.  
  
"Doctor?" Amy asked after Rory had disappeared once more into the TARDIS. "What was that about? Who's Jack?"  
  
"Oh, just an old friend who likes to cause trouble. Granted, I always seem to get him into it." He laughed at some joke Amy didn't understand and walked into the TARDIS with Amy following. "Okay!" he said, louder than needed, clapping his hands while running up to the console. "Let's see what trouble he's up to hm?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at the couple. He picked up the mobile and held it to his ear. "Hello?" He asked as Amy and Rory watched the Doctor talk to his friend over the phone.  
  
Pause.  
  
"Yes, kind of. I guess." The Doctor said reluctantly, rolling his eyes at whomever he was talking to. "Well now that you have your memory back, what do you want? And you said we, who else do you mean?"  
  
Pause.  
  
"Yes, yes. I'll be there soon." The Doctor sighed and hung up quickly. He straightened and began moving around the console, slightly reluctantly.  
  
"So we're going, yea?" Amy asked. "To whoever this Jack person is?"  
  
"Yes. It seems my little stunt with the Pandorica needs some explanation. Hold on, the TARDIS will try her best to not to go where I want her to." he warned, his hand on the lever. "Jack isn't the best company for her." he said as he threw the lever and, as predicted, the TARDIS seemed to jolt a bit more that usual. The Ponds quickly grabbed the rails and the Doctor gripped the console. The shaking stopped and the Ponds, who were the closest, walked to the doors and stepped out. They looked straight from the doors and saw two people waiting for them. One was a young blonde in a dress and a man in a long, heavy looking coat. The Doctor stepped out behind them and followed their gaze, freezing when he saw the people across from them.  
  
"That's not possible." he whispered, happily surprised by the woman's reaction. "Rose..."  
  
"Hello Doctor." She said happily before wincing. "You can't get rid of me." Rose whimpered. She stood for a second longer before she collapsed onto the ground.  
  
The Doctor watched in horror as she fell to the ground, unconscious. Rory was the first to react, followed my Amy and Jack. Although the Doctor was unable to move. He could hardly hear that Rory was shouting orders at everyone as he rolled her onto her back. The Doctor finally moved when Amy shifted and he could see Rose twitching on the ground. He hurried to her side and dropped to his knees, moving to cradle her head.  
  
"We have to get her into the TARDIS. Now." The Doctor ordered, scooping up Rose's limp body. They hurried to her the TARDIS's open doors. When they reached the door way, Rose let out a scream of agony. The Doctor immediately retreated a few steps and Rose quieted.  
  
"Alright, let's get her into the Hub." Jack said, leading the way to the secret opening. "Doctor, you take her down this way, I'll take your companions through the member's entrance." The Doctor nodded and stepped onto the movable cement block. As they began to sink, he looked at Rose's face. Her beautiful face that was once so full of life was so pale. As soon as the lift stopped, he ran her to what he guessed was sick bay. Jack ran in right after him, followed by Amy and Rory. The Doctor placed her down on the metal table gently as Jack and Rory began hooking her up to equipment. The Doctor stared in horror as the loud, toneless beep indicated that there was nothing to be found.  
  
"No... _No_!" he shouted, startling everyone in the room. "This can't happen. You're _Rose Tyler_  Defender of Earth. You _cannot_  leave again when I just got you back." He sank onto a stool and reached to cradle one of her hands in his, holding it to his face, and rocking gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doctor Who will always be my first... fandom but right now I have a Hobbit plot bunny that's calling my name. I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Reload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group talk about what happened and someone decides to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses for not getting these out earlier. I'm just a horrible human being. More at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

Jack, Amy, and Rory all stood there in stunned silence. The only noise that could be heard was the Doctor's ragged breathing from his attempt to hold back the tears that were obviously there.

Amy had no idea what to do. She had never seen the Doctor like this before. When she had lost Rory, although she didn't know that she had, he was always there to make her laugh. Whenever she was sad, he would change the subject or launch them at a new planet. Now, in her best friend's time of need, she had no idea what to do to help him. She wondered if maybe trying to console him would be best. She hesitated, worrying that her intuition may not be the best. She looked to see that both Rory and Jack were frozen. Amy looked back at the Doctor and took a step towards him.

Rory, on the other hand, knew what the Doctor was going through. Even if he didn't know the specifics, it was obvious that he had lost the woman he loved. He was pretty sure that level of pain was universal. Rory was good at keeping the door to his 2000 years guarding the Pandorica shut, but he was never going to forget what it felt like when he thought he had killed her. Not knowing the details of their relationship, he was unsure of what to say because he didn't want to say the wrong thing. He looked at Jack, hoping that the man who obviously had known him longer had some advice or knew a little of what to do.

Jack did have an idea of what to do though. Well, he knew what not to do. On the day the Master died, the first time, the Doctor was inconsolable. It took hours before anyone was able to get close enough to touch either of them. If that was how he would act with an enemy of his, Jack didn't want to think about how he was going to be with Rose. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy look like she was going console him and held his hand out, stopping her. Just then, they all jumped when the Doctor suddenly stood, his stool screeching loudly on the tile. He wheeled around, pointed at Jack, and walked up to him until he was toe-to-toe with him.

"You are going to tell me everything." He said sternly, making sure that it didn't sound like a request.

"Alright, let's go to the conference room. We'll all be able to calm down and talk." The Doctor paused a moment, looking over his shoulder at Rose but nodded and made a motion for Jack to lead the way. Jack started up the ramp out of the sick bay, the Doctor stalking after him. Amy and Rory glanced at each other before running to catch up with the men.

After they had sat down in the conference room, Jack began to tell his story. "So, I was just minding my own business, checking the surrounding area for Weevils, usually what I do before closing up shop. So anyway, I was checking around the Hub when suddenly wham! I had new memories." He paused, rethinking his choice of words. "No, I had misplaced memories. I didn't think much of it, brushing it to the side, thinking that it was just something that went wrong the last time I came back. Until I saw this woman running through the streets. She didn't look like she was running from anything, but from the way she was running, I could tell that this was no casual evening jog. So, I followed her using the CCTVs. Eventually, she ended up right outside, she was standing right above my head and I was able to manipulate a camera so I could get a good view of her face." He looked over his shoulder, into the sick bay. "With everything I'd remembered, I was surprised to see her." He finished, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of coffee.

The Doctor also leaned back and let out an irritated sigh, "Thanks for that helpful information. But, that doesn't really sound like everything. That just sounds like what you experienced. What did she say?" It was Jack's turn to let out the irritated sigh and he quickly told the Doctor everything that Rose had told him. The Doctor leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, folding his hands under his chin.

"Do you have any idea about what happened Doctor?" Amy piped up over Rory's shoulder.

"Yes. I think I know exactly what happened. When I flew the Pandorica into the TARDIS, it began to unravel my timestream. Everything I had done was beginning to be erased. That's why your parents were back, apart from you remembering them. If I had never existed, then there would be no TARDIS explosion to cause the cracks in time. Your parents don't get swallowed!" he finished, jumping from his seat, pacing the room.

"But if you never had existed, then how am I here. Why is the human race still alive?" Jack asked, worried over the words "explosion" and "TARDIS" used in the same sentence.

"Everything major stays. Jack, universes saved as well as lost, and the Time War. Can't feel a thing." He said sadly, tapping his forehead. "Minor things go though, back to how it would have been if I had never interfered." He paused, looking at the sick bay. "I guess the universe thought that Rose getting trapped was insignificant. Can't say I'm angry, got to see her again."

"Doctor." Amy said. "Do you know what happened to Rose?" His head snapped to look at her and he smiled slightly.

"Have you two been communicating? You asked the right question. Right." He stated, snapping back to the issure at hand. "I have an idea. This would be counted as a huge event. It caused the death of millions of Daleks and the creation of him." He pointed at Jack.

"And that would be…" Rory prompted.

"Bad Wolf."

"Bad what?" Amy and Rory said in unison

"Long story, not the time. It could also be rather big because it's the first time anyone has done what she did without becoming a vengeful god or dying. A human nonetheless!" he turned again and stared out the glass wall and into the sick bay.

"Doctor, what happened to her?" Rory asked.

The Doctor looked out of the large window that opened up to the rest of the Hub. Rose could still be seen, the bright wires contrasting sharply with her clothing, only serving as another reminder for what happened. "She looked into the heart of the TARDIS, it granted her wish but in doing so, she absorbed part of the time vortex and was able to use it for a time."

"What was her wish?"

"To save me."

"So is that what..." Jack trailed off.

"Yea. When I wiped her memory that day, it protected her just in case I missed a smidge of vortex. When her memories of me returned, everything came back. Including Bad Wolf. It may have taken some time but in the end... Her mind burned." He whispered, dropping his head as Amy gasped. Silence hung over the group as they all absorbed the information. It was so silent that a faint beeping noise echoed through the Hub. Everyone's head snapped up as the Doctor burst form the room with Jack close on his heels. When they reached the sick bay, the Doctor and Rose were hugging each other tightly.

"Doctor, what happened?" Rory panted. The machinery that was still connected to her said her heart was going crazy, but it was stabilizing.

"Bad Wolf, again." Rose looked at him in shock. "When she was in that state, she was able to control all of time and space. Like she had said, she could control life and death. Sensing that she was dying, I think Rose tried to do to herself what she did for Jack, she just didn't know that she wasn't in control of it."

"What are you saying?" Jack demanded, not wanting what happened to him to happen to anyone else. Rose's eyes were wide in shock, but she was still trying to get control of her voice.

"She's a fixed point in time. That explains her reaction to the TARDIS. It wasn't her reaction to the TARDIS, not really. It was the TARDIS trying to force Rose away from her, the last time a fixed point got close to her, she ran to the end of time itself in an effort to get away." The Doctor added under his breath.

"And you're certain?" Jack asked again, still not accepting it.

"Yes. I am because I'm trying not to run back to the TARDIS and get as far away from here as possible." Rose looked even more scared as she swallowed and took a deep breath, forcing a small smile to her face.

"H-hi." she said weakly, looking up at the Doctor.

"Hello." The Doctor smiled as well, Rose was back where she belonged. She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of doing a rewrite of this story, which is what I was planning on doing. I'm just going to transfer the chapters over from fanfiction.net and fix any minor mistakes that I find. It's quite late so feel free to let me know if I miss anything or if something doesn't make sense. I'm for sure going to get all of the chapters up tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack and the two people she saw exit the TARDIS stood outside the room they were in. She was thankful for the privacy she was getting with the Doctor. She looked up at the man that looked like a stranger, but she had known him for so long. She reached up and caressed his face with her hand, smiling lightly.

"You've changed." She said sadly, slightly mourning her pinstripe Doctor like she had her leather Doctor. "I like that you kept the big hair." She teased, reaching up to tousle his hair.

"You haven't." He replied, pulling her in for another tight hug. She buried her head into his neck, relishing the thought that she was able to do this once more. She touched the fabric around his neck and chuckled. "What?" he asked with a slight smile in his voice.

"A bowtie?"

"Yeah, you like it?" he sounded like he thought he knew what she was going to say.

"It's very –" she trailed off when movement caught her attention. The Doctor's new companions were frantically showing her thumbs up signs. "good. Very Doctor." She finished. That seemed to surprise him. He pulled away and quickly turned around. His companions, knowing him far too well, had already averted their gazes. He glared in their direction lightheartedly, already starting to feel like himself again, and turned back to Rose.

"How are you?"

"I'm alive but I'm guessing you had quite a scare." She joked.

"Rose, you were dead." He said slowly, gauging her reaction. He wasn't sure whether to put "no reaction" in the "Worried" or "Not Worried" column. "As far as I can tell, you can never die."

"Doctor, what did I mess up again?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"Oh hush, you didn't mess up anything." He tried consoling her, but her tears were falling freely now.

"You know what I'm talking about." She sobbed, hugging him tighter. He did know what she was talking about. Memories flashed of his ninth regeneration and his almost tenth which caused them to be separated as well. They stood there for several more seconds until someone cleared their throat, making them remember that they weren't alone.

* * *

 

Rose looked like she needed a change of subject so Amy, not wanting the poor girl to have much more stress flung at her, she cleared her throat to remind them that there were others present. They, well the Doctor for Rose was still on the bed, jumped apart. Rose, who was slowly turning red, slid from the bed and went up to Amy and Rory.

"Rose Tyler. Nice to meet you." She said sticking out a hand to Amy.

"Amy Pond. This is my husband Rory." She introduced, shaking Rose's hand.

"Williams." Rory corrected, shaking her hand as well. Rose smiled at them both before turning back to the Doctor.

"So…?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Oh c'mon, Jack's done it and it's been fine." She argued.

"Am I missing some sort of mind reading or something?" Amy asked Jack.

"She wants to see the TARDIS and he thinks it's a bad idea." Jack translated. Amy nodded before looking back at the two.

"Fine." The Doctor sighed, after staring at her for a while. Rose let out a squeal of happiness before running out of the sick bay. Before anyone could move, she was back.

"Umm, how do I get out of here? And why is there a pterodactyl flying around?" she jutted her thumb over her shoulder. Jack laughed before he led them all outside. Rose ran up to the TARDIS as soon as they were topside. She stroked the doors before looking at the Doctor, her eyes begging him to hurry up. He sighed and jogged the rest of the way.

"I thought you had your own key." He teased.

"Yea, it's strange how things suddenly go missing when the universe resets." She retorted.

"How'd you guess that?" he asked, the key in the lock.

"Guess something like that, you were involved anyway." She looked impatiently at the key. "C'mon then." She urged. He laughed and turned the key, opening the doors for her and stepping out of the way. She rushed inside, stunned a little at how different it looked. The TARDIS welcomed her with a buzz of joy, Rose thought she had heard an undertone of annoyance though.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked, stepping in behind her.

"It seems that she can pull off the same trick you can. Do I want to know what happened?"

"A little trouble with the last regeneration, radiation is a tricky thing." He said with a shrug. She nodded, walking around the console, stroking bits of it. The TARIS let out another buzz, this one sounded more annoyed.

"Why does she sound so annoyed?" Rose asked, a little hurt, as the others were just entering.

"You've become a fixed point in time. You're wrong. The TARDIS is trying to get away out of instinct." He paused and laughed a little. "You should be happy that all you're getting is a buzz here and there. Once Jack had to hold on to the outside whole the TARDIS tried shaking him off. Took us to the end of the universe trying to lose him."

"Can't get rid of me." Jack laughed. The Doctor joined him for a beat before jumping up to the console.

"So! Where to?" he asked the group.

"Actually, I think I need to stay."

"Why?" the Doctor said, peering around the console to look at Jack.

"Someone needs to look over this city." He said with a small smile. He hugged Rose good-bye. "Don't be a stranger. I'll have to track you down if you do." Rose laughed as she watched him exit the TARDIS.

"Ok, so Rose's choice." He looked at her, rubbing his hands together. "When to?"

"Surprise me." She said with a smile. And they were off.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's like he's being deliberately ridiculous, trying to attract our attention." Amy complained, closing the book she had been reading from. She and Rory were lying on the couch with his arm over her. They were watching another one of Rory's old movies. "Are you watching this again?"

"Yeah. I've explained all the jokes." Rory laughed at the movie as Amy went to answer the doorbell. He picked up the book and began looking at it. "So what are you saying? Do you really think he's back there, trying to wave at us, out of history books?"

"Hey, it's the sort of thing he'd do." She argued, accepting a stack of envelopes. "Thanks,"

"Yeah, but why? Can't be just cause of boredom, I mean, he has Rose to help keep him in check." He looked back up at the movie, missing the Doctor's "cameo".

"Well, he said they'd be in touch." She walked into the room, looking through the mail.

"That was two months ago."

"Two months is nothing. He's up to something. I know he is. I know him." She said as she stopped on a blue envelope. Flipping it over, she saw a number three on the back.

"What is it? Amy?" Rory asked, turning from his spot on the couch. She was opening the envelope and pulled out a card on the inside.

"A date, a time, a map reference. I think it's an invitation." She said, reading the card.

"From who?"

"It's not signed. But look, TARDIS blue." She replied with a small smile before tossing the envelope at him.

* * *

 

"That was the best!" Rose said, leaning into the Doctor. They were walking down the street back to the TARDIS, their arms linked. They were walking back from a party after Martha had called them back to Earth for. She and Mickey had just announced that they were getting married, again.

"Yeah, great." The Doctor sighed sarcastically, cradling his cheek. It had been two months for Jackie since she had seen her daughter. It had taken her a week to remember the Doctor, for all that time, she had been waiting to give him a piece of her mind. Naturally, she was at the party and when she had seen the man accompanying her daughter, she knew it was the Doctor. Before he could even get a word out, she had given him her famous slap. Rose laughed at the face he was making.

"Oh come on. She could've done much worse. Believe me."

"I know, I just hope she wouldn't slap me every time she sees me."

"Oh, you know she doesn't do that."

"Seems like it." He joked, looking down at her with a smile. He walked up to the door and pulled out the key. As he turned to open the door he spotted an envelope over the keyhole.

"Doctor, what is that?" Rose asked as he reached to pull it off.

"Seems to be an envelope."

"I can see that. What's it doing on the TARDIS?"

The Doctor stared at the envelope very hard before turning to her, tossing it over his shoulder. "Don't know. Don't care." He continued to unlock the TARDIS and stepped inside. Rose went over and picked it up. "If someone wants to contact me, then they can do it to my face." He scurried around the console, he turned to see Rose beginning to open it and he groaned. "Would you leave it?" he pointed at the time rotor. "All of time and space…"

"Doctor," she sighed, looking at the card that was inside. "maybe this was the only way they could get in touch with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, walking over to stand behind her. He pointed at the words on the card. "Well, that should be easy enough."

"So we're going?" she asked with a smile. She laughed with glee when he nodded and began to enter in the coordinates.

* * *

 

A blue envelope flew onto River's cot in her cell. She picked it up and upon opening it, a slow smile crept its way across her face. She pulled her suitcase out from under her cot and began putting her few items into it. Across the hallway, she heard a guard calling his superior while the alarm blared, she smiled to herself as she disappeared.

* * *

 

The TARDIS landed with a lurch and Rose ran for the doors. She came out into a broom closet. She stood there for a second before she turned back inside.

"Um, Doctor? Are we in the right place?"

"No." he said, sliding past her and out the door. She chased after him and found herself in a 1950's style restaurant.

"What are we doing here then?" she walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, this is going to sound really daft, but what's the date?"

"April 22. 2011." He answered with an American accent. That made Rose guess that they were in the right place. She thanked the man and walked over to the booth that the Doctor was sitting in.

"Why'd you bring us to the right day but not the right location?" she thanked the waiter when he brought two Cokes their table. The Doctor took a slip of his and looked at it in dislike. He stood up and started walking to the TARDIS. "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting my special straw. It adds more fizz." He replied before continuing to the TARDIS. She sighed and sat back in her seat.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Rose sat there for a few minutes, worrying that the Doctor got sidetracked or couldn't find it. She sighed and went to get out of the booth when she heard someone burst in. for some reason, she thought that she should stay put and she sunk down in the booth a little.

"You got 3, I was 2, Mr. Delaware was 4." She heard a woman say.

"So?" Rory replied. She wondered what he was doing here.

"So, where's 1?"

"What, you think he invited someone else?"

"Will you two shut up? It doesn't matter." She heard Amy say quietly. She was tempted to turn around, but she needed to find out what they were talking about.

"He was up to something."

"He's dead." Amy said. Rose felt a cold chill of dread settle itself in her gut.

"Space, 1969. What did he mean? He never did say why Rose wasn't there. We need to go back as well." Rory continued. The dread set itself deeper into Rose.

"You're still talking, but it doesn't matter." Amy insisted sadly.

"Hey, it mattered to him."

"So it matters to us." The woman insisted with Rory.

"Look." Rory said. Rose jumped as he approached her table. She regretted not pulling the envelope off of the table. She was saved from explaining when the Doctor came out of the closet with a straw sticking out of his mouth. All three of them walked up to him.

"This is cold. Even by your standards." The woman said, looking extremely hurt.

"Or hello, as people used to say." He replied, confused.

"Doctor?" Amy asked, walking towards him slowly.

"I just popped out to get my special straw. It adds more fizz." He glanced at Rose. "I couldn't find my extra one for Rose though."

"It's fine." She replied, trying not to sound chocked up while slapping a smile on her face. He gave her an odd look but shook it off as Amy began to circle him.

"You're okay." She whispered, touching his bow tie. "How can you be okay?"

"Hey, of course I'm okay. I'm always okay." He pulled her in her a hug. "I'm the King of Okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title." He joked weakly, pulling away from the hug. "Forget the title. Rory the Roman!" he yelled happily, hugging him as well. Rory looked confusedly at the woman. "That's a good title. Hello, Rory. And Doctor River Song. Oh, you bad, bad girl. What trouble have you got for me this time?" Rose looked at the Doctor in shock at his, his, well, flirting. She didn't have time to dwell on it because River slapped the Doctor. "Okay," he said, cupping his cheek. "I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet."

"Yes, it is." She said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Good looking forward to it." He turned to Rose. "Is there something about my face? Or is it slap the Doctor day?" she laughed weakly and shrugged.

"I don't understand. How can you guys be here?" Rory asked, stepping from his place by the counter.

"We were invited." He replied, pulling Rose out of the booth to stand next to him. "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume. Otherwise it's one hell of a coincidence."

"River, what's going on?"

"Amy ask him what age he is."

"That's a bit personal." The Doctor said with a laugh.

"Tell her. Tell her what age you are." She insisted.

"Nine hundred and nine." He said very matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but you said you were…" River trailed off. "So where does that leave us, huh?" she asked, taking a step towards him. "Jim the fish? Have we done Jim the fish yet?" she asked somewhat frantically.

"Who's Jim the fish?" he asked, smiling. Rose could barely comprehend what was going on. She was still back at why she wasn't with the Doctor they had seen. He obviously knew that she was back so it had to be the future version of him. She was also thinking about what this River woman was to the Doctor.

"I don't understand…" Amy said.

"Yea you do." Rory said like it was obvious.

"I don't! What are we all doing here?" the Doctor shouted, getting everyone attention.

"We've been recruited. Something to do with space 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware the third." River said, stepping up when no one had anything to say.

"Recruited by who?" the Doctor said, growing suspicious.

"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the universe."

"And who might that be?" the Doctor asked, his eyes flashing to Rose. Surely she trusted him more than anyone ever could, but she couldn't have set this up. No, they've been together the entire time. She could never be involved with this. Consciously or unconsciously. The Doctor wasn't sure why he added in that bit though.

"Spoilers." River said. The Doctor looked very annoyed and Rose guessed that it was a running thing between the two. Whatever they were. She'd have to ask Rory later. They all stood there for a long moment before Rose decided to break the growing awkward silence.

"So Doctor, it seems we need to go to 1969." She said with a forced smile and a tilt of the head toward the TARDIS. He returned her smile and bolted for the doors, his companions following him.

* * *

 

Once they were all in the TARDIS, the Doctor sprang to the controls and began to fiddle with them. "1969, that's an easy one! Funny how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches." He watched as Amy and River went down to the area below the TARDIS console. "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name yeah? How many of those can there be?" he asked Rose, who had settled down into the jump seat. "Well, three, I suppose." He turned to Rory. "Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?" Rory looked rather uncomfortable before he said that he would find out and scurried after the other girls. Rose took this opportunity to ask the Doctor some questions.

"Doctor?" she called, pausing his somewhat frantic movements on the controls. He turned to look at her, leaning on the console. "Who is River Song?"

"She's an old friend. If you could call her an old friend. Our timelines are back to front. Her past is my future, as my past is her future. When I first met her, I was traveling with Donna." He let a small smile slip as he remembered the fiery red-head. "That was the day she died. Well, kind of. I downloaded her onto a computer in a library planet. She knew everything about me then, she even told me that soon, there will come a day when I will know everything about her and she will know nothing of me." He looked sadly at floor below them.

"So, just a friend?" Rose asked rather suggestively.

"Why yes Rose, just a friend." He replied like it was obvious.

"I just figured with the flirting you two seem to do…"

"Flirting?! I thought that was just talking." The Doctor joked, sliding past that awkward conversation. He did not want Rose to know who River Song was supposed to be to him. Now that Rose was here, there was no way that he was going to marry River, not that he was planning on it of course. He quickly turned back to the console, fiddling with the controls once more. He smiled when he pin pointed a date, then was annoyed to see only Rose there to witness it. He walked over to the railing and leaned over it, surprising the three underneath. "Now I'm being extremely clever up here and only Rose has the privilege to see it! What's the point in having you all if only one person seems impressed?"

* * *

 

After convincing the Doctor to go to 1969, not getting shot, and finding the location the girl was calling from, they were at an abandoned warehouse. Amy and Canton were walking around the alien table while the Doctor and Rose were poking their heads into boxes, literally in the Doctor's case.

"So, you were kicked out of the FBI because you had attitude problems?" Amy asked him. He straightened from the tube he was examining and walked over to the head piece.

"No. I just wanted to get married."

"And that's a crime?"

"Yes." He pointed over his shoulder, at the Doctor who was sticking his head into yet another box. "Doctor who, exactly?"

"Ah, that's classified." She responded mysteriously.

"Classified by who?"

"God knows."

"Do you work for him?" Canton asked, dropping the previous subject. He figured that's all she would say, if not all she knew.

"He's my friend, if friend is the right word. I haven't seen him in a while. I had something I wanted to tell him. But stuff always gets in the way."

"Stuff does that." Canton agreed.

"Help me! Help me!" they heard a girl call. They all straightened and turned toward the sound. Canton walked toward it, drawing and cocking his gun.

"That's her." He said, running towards the noise as she continued to cry out. Amy began to follow him but soon doubled over in pain. Canton continued running as the Doctor and Rose rushed to her side.

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rose asked quickly, at the same time as the Doctor. Amy was staring at the Doctor, intent on getting this out.

"Doctor, I need to tell you something. It's important." She panted. "It's really really important." She said as Canton was yelling for the Doctor. He was visibly torn between Amy and Canton. He pulled Rose toward her.

"Help her." He said as he ran off. Rose and Amy were able to keep up, however, Amy was in visible pain. They ran over to where Canton had been calling, the Doctor motioning for them to be quiet. They turned around the corner to find him lying on the floor. "Canton! Canton, are you okay?" the Doctor whispered, running over to him.

"Is he all right?" Amy asked.

"Just unconscious. Got a proper whack."

"Doctor, I need to tell you something." She repeated, asked for Rose to help her down.

"Now's not a great moment."

"No, it's important. It has to be now." She insisted as the girl began calling out once more. She leaned into Rose for support. "Doctor." She said, making sure he was looking at her. "I'm pregnant." She said just as they heard heavy footsteps behind them. They all turned to see the astronaut walking up behind them, pointing at the Doctor. Time seemed to move in slow motion for Rose as Amy reached for Canton's gun as the astronaut lifted its visor. It revealed the face of a young girl. Very young, no more than six or seven.

"Help me!" she cried looking extremely terrified. Rose didn't seem to be able to move as Amy pointed the gun at the girl.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor shouted.

"Saving your life!"

"No!" Rose and the Doctor yelled and Amy fired and screamed.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**One Month Later…**

Rose sat up in her hotel room in Lincoln, Nebraska. The headache she's had for the last few days had yet to pass. She was sure it wasn't too serious, she knew that she couldn't die. She found out the hard way. She and the Doctor had visited the Americas, due to his shoty driving, they ended up in the middle of a battle in the Civil War. Sadly, their rifles weren't that accurate then and Rose found that out the hard way.

She had thought it was just something to do with the Silence, given how they mess with your brain, it's bound to do some damage. That made her look at her arm for the twentieth time that week. She had a blank spot for each tally, or group of tallies, on her arm, they agreed to mark their arms whenever they saw one, or more. A blank spot for each one, except for one. There was one blank spot that was there without a corresponding tally. The day after she noticed that blank spot, her headache began. It had grown in intensity over the last few days. Without contact with the others, however, she had no idea if they were having the same symptoms or not. She sighed, and got up from the bed to go about her daily activities. She had two months until she would see the Doctor again. He said this plan would be the best one. He had never explained it though. She shook her head to herself as she got ready for a shower.

**Two months later…**

Rose ran. She had to make it convincing. She knew that they were there, even if the only noise she could hear was her own breathing and her footsteps on the concrete of L.A.'s back alleys. Her head throbbed with the pressure in her skull. All she could do was ignore it as she hopped over the hood of a police car. She continued running until she reached a chain link fence, blocking the straight route she'd been taking. The alley opened to her left, but when she turned to go down it, she saw a Silent standing there. It rattled and pointed the middle of its three fingers at her. She stared right back into its hollow eyes. She felt no fear, she knew it wasn't attacking. She had seen and felt a Silent's attack before. It had happened right before her headache began. She quickly added a tally onto her exposed midriff, making a total of 910.

The sounds of sirens to her left caused her to turn. She tried to run but stilled at the sound of guns being cocked. Through the glare of the headlights, she could see two figures heading towards her. One she recognized as Canton, the other looked like a coroner. He held something in his hands, she tried to look shocked, but she knew what was going to happen.

"It's the end of the line Ms. Tyler." Canton called, pulling out his own gun.

"It's never over. Look at me and the Doctor. He always thinks he's rid of me." She laughed. She glared at him as he pulled the hammer back on his revolver. "Speaking of him, you know he's going to be very cross with you when he finds out right?"

"Oh, I don't think he'll be a problem." He smirked before he fired. While he was using tranquilizers with the other three, Rose had insisted on real bullets. She knew that she couldn't die and it would help in case anyone wanted to make sure that she was dead.

* * *

 

When Rose woke up, she was in a black cube with the Doctor kneeling over her. He smiled when he saw her eyes open, he was never too sure about this whole "fixed point in time" thing.

"Hello." He greeted her, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Doctor?" She asked. She was never sure that the Doctor ever had facial hair. With the two past bodies she had traveled with, they always seemed to never have any stubble. The Doctor she was looking at know really looked like he was imprisoned, his beard had grown out a couple of inches and so had his hair, which flopped over quite a bit now.

"That's what I said." Amy joked as she leaned against the wall of the cube. "He looks to be back to his raggedy man status."

"Oi. It's not that bad." The Doctor joked right back at her, running his hand through his beard. "I think it's rather-"

"Nope. Stop there, if you keep going with that sentence, we'll never be rid of it." Rory groaned.

"Where's River?" Rose asked, looking about.

"Yeah, about that…" Canton began. The Doctor stood up and turned to him. "She sorta "fell" off the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper."

The Doctor walked around the cube and leaned sideways, falling on an invisible TARDIS. She snapped opening the doors. "Don't worry, she does that." Rory helped Rose out of her body bag as they all shuffled inside. The Doctor was already asking Canton about the date and location this happened. "Amy, Rory, Rose please go and open all the doors to the swimming pool." He called out and they ran off to do their assigned duty. Not two seconds after they opened every door possible, River came crashing through, her body stretched into a backwards dive. Rose laughed when she realized that River knew the Doctor so well. A little too well, thank you very much, she thought as she helped River out of the pool. The Doctor came traipsing in, with a rather large and fluffy towel in hand.

"I think this is your noisiest entrance yet." He joked as he passed her the towel.

"You know me, love a grand entrance." She smiled as she began drying her hair. "I suppose I should get out of these clothes." She said, glancing down at her soaked dress. "I suppose my room is in the same spot?"

"Yes." He replied, nodding.

"Next to yours?" her eyes slid to Rose's face before they were back on the Doctor's.

"I thought I answered that with the first yes." He said, sounding annoyed. He turned and walked in the direction, Rose assumed, of the console room.

"You never know with the TARDIS exploding and the universe resetting. The rooms might've been shifted around a bit." She shot back before turning and heading to her room to change. Rose stared after her in shock. After everything she had gone through with the Doctor, before the universe reset, her room was never even in the same hallway as his. She doubted that this woman was anything but 'just a friend' to the Doctor. She wondered where her room was now, she had yet to find it. With the immortality she had gained, she had lost the need to sleep as much. She only slept a few hours every three weeks or so, and when she did it was usually in the library behind a book. She didn't have time to ask Amy or Rory anything about it though, for the Doctor was calling them to the console room.

* * *

 

Rose sat back in the jump seat, feeling the most guilt she had ever felt. After Canton had gone with the house's caretaker, it was her idea for her and Amy to split up. It was her fault that Amy was taken by the Silence and had God knows what done to her. At the moment, River was off somewhere in the TARDIS, the Doctor was saying farewell to Nixon and Canton, and Amy was walking over after reconciling with Rory.

"Scooch." She ordered Rose and pointed at her feet. Rose sighed and placed her feet on the floor, allowing the woman room to sit. Rose opened her mouth to apologize again but Amy held up a hand to stop her. "Oh no you don't." she said with a frown. "It wasn't your fault. It probably would've happened anyway, only they didn't have both of us." She paused while she grinned. "I would've loved to have seen what the Doctor would've done if both of us were taken." She paused again, thinking.

Rose took this chance to say, "Thanks and that would've been funny to see. He's never reacted well to things happening to me." Amy turned and gave her a hard look. "A-as well as his other companions. He takes good care of us." She added quickly, feeling her face begin to burn.

"You and him. What's the deal with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Rose tried to ask innocently. Tried to anyway.

"Oh come on. I've seen the looks you give him when he's not looking. Don't say there the looks good friends give each other. You and me know that friends would never give each other looks like that."

"We are just friends. While we are on the topic of the Doctor and his romantic life, do you know what is going on between him and River? I asked him a while ago but I don't think he gave an honest answer." She asked, changing the topic smoothly. Before Amy had the chance to answer, however, the Doctor came rushing in. River appeared at the same time, saying that it was time for her to go. He nodded and began piloting the TARIDS. They were soon back at River's jail cell and she and the Doctor were heading out, he instructed the others to stay inside.

"What if we want to say good-bye to River?" Rory asked the closed door, rolling his eyes. The scanner popped on as if the TARDIS was saying, this is the best you're gonna get. It had no sound with it but the three of them gathered around for no real reason. It was just something to do.

"So Amy, as you were about to say a little while ago?" Rose asked, turning her head slightly in Amy's direction, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Oh, right. Well, apparently, she's the Doctor's wife." She said, no idea of the amount that it effected Rose. What made it worse was that Amy had impeccable timing. Right when she said that, River pulled the Doctor in for a kiss. Rose felt her heart drop to her feet. The only redeeming factor was that the Doctor looked very uncomfortable. But Rose remembered what he had said about their time lines. This may have been the first time this has happened for him, but the millionth time for her.

Rose felt like a teenager again as she wandered the TARDIS hallways, looking for solace. She didn't care if she was being melodramatic, because she knew she was. She continued wandering, unsure of how far she had come. She stopped at the end of a hallway, a pink and yellow door stood in front of her. Her heart lurched when she recognized the familiar design. She opened the door and smiled when she found it in the same condition she had left it in all those years ago. She closed the door and fell onto her bed, hoping to dream of times when it was just her and him.


	8. Chapter 8

Rose woke up a couple hours later, surprised to hear a knock at her door. She sat up, wondering if it was only her imagination. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked at her tear stained pillow. _God, this is really pathetic._ She thought, punching her pillow. She heard the knock again and looked in the mirror. Her face was horrid. She sniffed and pushed herself off of the bed. She smiled when she saw that the TARIDS had created a spy hole in her door so she could see who it was before opening. Rose looked out and saw Amy standing there, well a distorted Amy. She sighed and opened the door.

"It took me forever to-" Amy began, sounding exasperated. She stopped herself when she took in the state of her face. "Rose, what happened? Are you alright?" she asked, sounding severely worried. Rose looked past her, down the hallway. She wasn't sure why though. Her room was in such a secluded part of the TARDIS that she doubted that anyone else would be coming. She walked away from the door, allowing Amy to follow her in. Amy quickly strode across the small room and quickly sat at the end of her bed. She looked around the room, taking it in. "So, I'm guessing that this is your…" Amy asked, not needing to finish the sentence.

"Yea."

"It's nice." Amy complimented weakly.

"For a nineteen year old maybe." Rose scoffed. Her walls were still covered with the bands she adored at the time, they barely covered the pale pink walls behind them. The tan wooden floor had a rather large rug dominating the middle of the floor, also pink. Her first Doctor often joked that it looked like a Slitheen had exploded in her room, if they were pink. She smiled at the memory. She was suddenly aware of Amy watching her with an odd look.

"Are you alright?" she repeated.

"Yea, fine." Rose replied softly. She looked at her feet, not wanting to meet Amy's hard gaze.

"Rose," she said just as softly, as if she was speaking to a timid animal that was easy to spook. "You can beat around the bush as long as you want. Just know that I will be around if you ever need to talk." She stood and walked to the door. Rose stood in the middle of her room, her arms folded across her chest. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wasn't used to people telling her that they were there for her. With the Doctor, it was an unspoken thing, always there no matter what. She realized now, that it was a good thing to hear once and a while. Before Amy could leave, Rose spoke up suddenly, causing her to pause, her hand on the handle.

"Amy, thanks. I might take you up on that." She said as she wiped the tear from her face. Amy gave her a small smile before exiting the room. Rose sighed as she wiped another tear from her face. She walked over and sat in the impression Amy had just left. She cradled her forehead in her hands, her headache was worse today, far worse. She had a good day yesterday, the pain seemed to dull down a bit. She didn't think that it was anything to do with Bad Wolf, the Doctor had explained that that's what had made her, what she was, and doing so saved her life as well as taking the rest of the energy. She was, apparently void of all Bad Wolfiness, as he called it.

She gasped as the pain in her head changed from a dull throb to a sharp pain, almost as if something was forcing its way into her head. Not her mind, her physical head. She clutched at her head as a pressure built along with the sharp pain. Soon, but what seemed like an hour, the sharp pain receded, leaving the pressure in its wake. She leaned back and laid on her back on her bed, hoping for the pressure to pass before she did anything too strenuous. After a few seconds, she thought she saw something move behind her. She saw a flash of white, like a shirt a doctor would wear, but when she turned fully there was nothing. The only thing she got was her head protesting at the sudden movement. She was about to lay back down when she saw a woman standing in front of her door. She wore a black leather shirt and skirt combo. Her dark brown hair was piled on top of her head and she had an eye patch over her right eye.

"How much did you give her?" she asked someone behind Rose's head.

"Just 12cc like you said." A deep voice came from behind her. Rose spun around to see nobody standing there.

"Good, monitor her and give me a report in an hour." The woman ordered before turning, opening the door, and leaving. Rose immediately stood up and ran to the door, ignoring her head. She wretched the door open, only to find the hallway empty. She looked around in confusion before heading, she hoped, in the direction of the console room.

* * *

Rose had to wander around for another hour before she found the console room again, she shot an angry look at the TARDIS walls. Maybe this was her way of telling Rose that she needed the exercise. She walked into the console room to find the Doctor fiddling, rather frantically, with the controls.

"What's got him all wound up? This time." Rose added as an afterthought as she sat down next to Amy, bumping their shoulders. Amy and Rory were watching the Doctor work frantically on getting them where they need to go.

"For starters, we just got a distress call. Yes, I know, another one. People just can't stop being in dire situations can they?" She joked as Rose rolled her eyes. "And the other thing is you."

"What?" Rose asked, wondering if she heard wrong.

"You heard me." Amy said before she sighed and looked at her. "He had just said good-bye to River and you had disappeared. He kept saying that the TARDIS wouldn't tell him where you were." She laughed at how the Doctor was acting. "He didn't know where you were." She finished, turning back to the Doctor. Amy was oblivious at how far Rose's heart sunk when she heard that. He didn't even think to check her room. The Doctor's whoop brought her out of her thoughts.

"Found it, locked on, and we are heading there now!" he yelled gleefully.

"You sure we aren't a month behind? I remember what can happen in a month." Rose said, remembering the day she met Jack. The Doctor turned and looked it looked as though he just realized that she was there.

"Now where have you been?"

"You know, around." She replied mysteriously, waving her hand about.

"Why wouldn't the TARDIS tell me where you were?"

"That's between you and her." They landed before the Doctor could reply. He ran to the doors, flinging them open. The others followed him to find that they were in some sort of storage area in a ship. They heard talking coming through some grating a few feet away. The Doctor walked over to it and began to bang on it. The talking stopped and the Doctor banged a few more times. The voices grew louder and drew closer until the hatch was opened and the four of them saw the faces of pirates staring down at them. The Doctor looked at them for a second before his face split into his trademark smile.

"Yo ho ho!" he said jauntily. Seeing no response from any of the men, his face fell. "Or does nobody actually say that." He said sadly. The pirates looked at the man in front before pulling them from the storage area and towards, what seemed like, the captains quarters. Rose rolled her eyes as she was being hauled away. There was something about this one that it felt like it wasn't going to end well…


	9. Chapter 9

Rose, Amy, and Rory stood behind the Doctor while he tried to explain their situation to the captain.

"So! What's wrong with the ship?" the Doctor asked, completely unaware of their situation.

"There's nothing wrong with this ship! It's a fine vessal." The Captain defended.

"But we picked up your signal."

"We made no signal."

"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress." The Doctor explained, looking confused. Rose sighed internally when she realized that the Doctor didn't realize the possible time period that they were in.

"Sensors?" the Captain asked, looking worried.

"Oh right. Okay, problem word." He finally looked around and at the crew's apparel. "Seventeenth century. My ship automatically, noticed-ish that your ship was having a bother." The Doctor explained the best he could.

"That blue crate?" the Captain said, still unbelieving.

"That is more magic, Captain Avery." One of the crew spoke up. Rose looked at his, curious with his choice of words. "They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?"

"Well, I want to say multidimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there." Rose sighed, outwardly this time, at how he said he won't go there but did at the same time. "Look I'm the Doctor. This is Amy, Rory, and Rose." He said happily, turning to gesture to them. "We're sailors, same as you." He turned back around to see Captain Avery was pointing a gun in his face. "Ooo. Except for the gun thing." He paused, rubbing his chin. "And the beardiness." He added. He looked at Rose, a mischievous smile on his face. Rose shook her head and his face fell. She looked at the crew.

"What did you mean by _more_ magic?" She asked the crew member that had spoken up earlier. He moved to reply but the Captain raised his hand to stop him.

"You're stowaways." He said, completely ignoring Rose's question. "Only explanation. Eight says, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed. We don't answer a stowaway's question. Especially a _female_ stowaway." He sneered, throwing a hard glare at Rose. The Doctor stepped between Rose and Avery. The motion was lost on Rose, waving it off on his protectiveness over his companions, but Amy didn't miss what he was unconsciously doing and she smiled to herself.

"Now what do we do with 'em?" The crew member from before asked.

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality." He answered coldly, Rose and Amy shivered at the malice in his voice. The four of them were grabbed by the tops of their arms and taken out of the Captain's cabin. One of the crew members led the Doctor to a plank. _How cliché_ Rose thought, trying to cover up the worry that had begun to set in. The Doctor was pushed up onto it, he looked down at it in distaste.

"How very cliché of you. A pirate with a plank. I'm surprised you haven't got a peg leg and a parrot." He said dully, obviously put down by the surroundings. Captain Avery seemed to be losing his patience fairly quickly, he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the Doctor. "Alright, alright. I get it." He said as he walked towards the edge. The crew members started laughing at him and Rose saw the Doctor take the opportunity to stall. "I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh?" he asked, pretending like he was going to dive and bounced like it was a diving board. "Check. Grab yourself a parrot and welcome aboard."

"Stocks are low." The Captain began, looking at the three people that were still on the deck, ignoring the Doctor's rant. "Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need three more empty bellies to fill. Take the doxies-"

"Oi!" both Rose and the Doctor interrupted.

"-below to the galley. Set them to work. They won't need much feeding." Avery finished, turning back to the Doctor.

"Rory? A little help?" Amy called as she and Rose were being hauled away once more.

"Yeah." He said, turning to the man holding him. "Hey, listen, right? They're not doxies." Was the best he could come up with against the formidable man.

"I didn't mean just tell him off. Thanks anyway." She said as they were forced into another one of the storage areas, Rose could tell it wasn't the galley.

"I think they put us in the wrong room." Rose gestured to the coats and hats that were hanging around them. "And this looks out of place." Rose said, turning to a chest in the middle of the room. The only chest in the room. She looked at Amy, who was catching on to what she was saying, and opened it. They were welcomed by the shine of swords. They each grabbed one, grinning like fools.

"I think I know what the Doctor would do in this situation." Amy grinned as she looked at the coats and hats behind them. Rose met her grin with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"WWTDD?" She joked as they pulled on their "gear". They stepped out on the deck right when the Doctor was saying something about the crew jumping out and saying boo.

"Boo!" Amy yelled, putting her sword between herself and the pirates. She slowly walked toward Avery, pointing the sword at his neck, Rose covered her flank, watching the crew carefully. "Throw down the gun." She ordered, smiling when he complied quickly.

"Amy, what are you doing?" The Doctor asked as she kicked the gun away.

"Saving your life. You got a problem with that?" she replied as he hopped down from the plank.

"Put down the sword. A sword could kill us all, girl." Avery begged, lifting his head as Amy inched the edge of the blade closer to his beard.

"Yeah, thanks. That is why I'm pointing it at you." She said, stepping closer. Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement. Rose didn't see much, for she was behind the man holding Rory, but she guessed that the pirates were trying to get the upper hand. The man closest to her grabbed a stick and tried to get the sword out of her hands. She was able to fight him off long enough to see Amy swing in her direction. Amy lowered her sword and cut the arm of the man holding Rory. He immediately let go and the fighting paused as the pirates stared at their comrade like he had just fallen in battle.

"You have killed me." He said sadly.

"No way. It's just a cut." Amy laughed, not noticing the black spot appear on his hand. "What kind of rubbish pirates are you?"

"One drop, that's all it takes." Avery said, he was still holding the Doctor back, who he had grabbed when the scuffle started. "One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean."

"Come on, I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about?" Amy asked as she began another swing. A pirate grabbed her mid-swing and both Rose and Rory both yelled "Ow!" at the same time. When the pirate grabbed Amy, the one Rose had been fighting had taken the opportunity to smack the sword from her hands, causing it to fall and scrape her knee in the process. Rory had tried catching the sword that Amy dropped.

"Doctor, what's happening to me?" Rory asked, pointing to the black dot in the center of his palm. Since their outbursts were at the same time, the Doctor didn't hear Rose's cry. Rose stood off on the other side of the boat from everyone. She sat and began to nurse her cut, just in case she needed her knee for something.

"She can smell the blood on your skin. She's marked you for death." Avery said gravely.

"She?" Rory asked him.

"A demon, out there in the ocean."

"Okay. Groovy. So not just pirates today. We've managed to bag a ship where there's a demon popping in. very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you." The Doctor rambled, still not noticing Rose, who was now staring in horror at the spot on her hand. They all looked around when a wordless song began.

"Quickly now, block out the sound." A crew member said.

"What?" Rory replied, not getting what he was saying.

"The creature. She charms all her victims with that song." Avery explained.

"Oh, great. So put my fingers in my ears, that's your plan? Doctor, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the, the um…" Rory trailed off. The singing grew louder as the pirate, Rory, and Rose began to giggle.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked, finally noticing her condition. She just laughed and slapped her knee. The Doctor noticed the blood soaking through the denim. "Rose, I need you to come over here. Now." He ordered. When he saw that she couldn't do much of anything, he tried to make his way over to her. He didn't take two steps before a light blue, translucent woman came shooting out of the water. She sang her song and the pirate stumbled towards her, holding out his hand. Amy and the Doctor did all they could to hold Rory back. Upon touching her hand, the pirate disappeared. The Doctor watched in horror as she turned her sights to Rose, who was already limping her way over to her. "No!" he shouted as Rose and the Siren's hands touched, sending Rose God knows where.

"Sorry, but he's spoken for." He heard Amy say to the Siren. He barely registered the Siren's answering screech before disappearing. He regained his awareness as his rage began to build. He turned on his heel to face Avery. The man took a step back upon seeing the Doctor's face.

"After we find her, oh and we _will_ find Rose, you will owe me favors for the rest of your time." The Doctor spat before telling everyone they needed to get away from the water.


	10. Chapter 10

Rose's mind was blank at she reached for the beautiful woman's hand. In the back of her mind, she slightly registered someone yelling. The instinct to reach for this woman was stronger than anything she had felt before. A second before she disappeared, Rose saw the Doctor yelling at her, then he was gone and the world went black.

In what seemed like the same exact moment the world went black, it came back with blinding light and noise. She squinted against the harsh light, which bounced off of the white walls. A moment later, she heard people talking quite loudly around her. They all seemed to be calling for the same person. The next second, it seemed the person they were calling for had arrived. Rose was speechless when she realized that it was the same person she had seen hours earlier. Her black attire was striking against the blank walls. She was yelling at the rest of the people in the room. In that final second, Rose turned her head to see a hand flying to hit her. The world went black once more.

* * *

When Rose awoke again, she was thankful when she found herself in a different room. She looked around the dark room, surprised to see beds of some kind suspended from the ceiling. She gasped, or attempted to, when she noticed the sailor from earlier, the one Amy had cut. She rolled her head to her left and her eyes grew wide when she saw Rory laying in the bed next to her. Her eyes snapped to the foot of the bed when she heard the singing again. The blue woman was singing to her as she walked up to Rose's head. Rose couldn't help but think that she was a little like River. She wasn't sure exactly why she thought that. She guessed that they both didn't appear to be as they seemed. The woman began to move her hand to Rose's face and she began to fall asleep. She hoped that she wouldn't just end up in the same room as before.

* * *

Rose spun around, she was in the first TARDIS she traveled in. she smiled despite herself when she recognized the leather clad figure leaning over the console. She started towards him but stopped when she saw the fierce expression on his face when he turned around.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded with his think Northern accent. Rose was taken aback. Her Doctor could be mad at her, just as anyone could, but he _never_ spoke to her in that tone before.

"Doctor? What do you mean?" she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"You didn't listen to what I told you to do. You risked your life for mine. I _died_ to save you." He replied, bitterness slithering into his voice. As he spoke, he shifted into his tenth body. "I thought I could forgive you. Over time, I had even grown to love you." He continued, his face twisting in pain. Rose gasped at his bluntness, whatever this was, she wasn't sure if she wanted it to end or not. "Then you were gone, and I was crushed. But, over time I was able to move on. I would never forget you, no you'd given me far too much to remember you by to be able to do that. I had met Donna and Martha, they were fantastic." He looked off into the distance, reliving memories of the two unforgettable companions he had. "But you couldn't stay away." His dark gaze fixed itself on her once again and Rose felt herself shrink under it. "You just _had_ to build a dimension cannon. To Hell with the universe!" he yelled, throwing his arms out wide. "Who cares if I cause all of time to collapse? I'll be back with the Doctor and he'll be sure to fix it." He mocked, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

"Doctor, stop it. You're scaring me." Rose begged, tears in her eyes.

"Why should I? You never complained when I did this to an alien species. Oh, that's right. Because it's _Rose Tyler_ Defender of the Earth isn't it? She can't be spoken to like this, oh no, that wouldn't be right. She's a genius for being able to find her way back to _her_ Doctor again. I left you with the metacrisis so you would stay away." He yelled like it was obvious.

"Please Doctor." Rose asked again, the tears beginning to fall. He changed into his current body before he spoke again.

"I reset the universe, big mistake that was. I didn't realize that it would bring things back. If I had, I would've tried something else. But, even with you back in this world, you could've lived with Mickey the Idiot. Just let me become a story in your head. No, you couldn't let that happen now could you?" he asked, glaring at her shaking figure.

"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed, whatever this was, she was certain that she wanted it to stop. Now.

"I wanted to get this all out as soon as possible. Because with you, I feel like my death is imminent." He said turning his back on her. "I even found someone who I could love in your place. Someone who I didn't have to save every time we stepped from those doors." Suddenly, River stepped out from behind the rotor. She placed a kiss on the Doctor's cheek and they walked off together, holding hands like Rose and the Doctor used to. He left Rose sobbing into the TARDIS floor.

 _Rose? Rose! I'm going to pull you out of this and it won't be pleasant._ She heard the Doctor say and she looked up, confused. Once again, her world went black.

* * *

Rose awoke with a gasp and saw Amy desperately trying to resuscitate a still Rory. It didn't look like it was going too well. All too soon, Amy looked like she had given up as she sobbed after doing chest compressions. Amy began combing her fingers through his hair when Rory gave a sputtering gasp, making Amy jump. The Doctor looked at the two with a smile playing at his eyes. He turned to look at Rose, who jumped to be under his gaze so soon after, whatever it was. He walked over to her and crouched next to where she was sitting against the console. He was shocked to see her shrink away fro him, pressing herself against the console.

"Rose, are you alright?" he asked, his worry lacing the question. The Ponds looked up as well, suddenly looking worried at Rose's reaction. Rose refused to look at him.

"Doctor. Take me home." She said, still not meeting his gaze.

"Rose?" he asked, leaning away from her at the shock of her question. Though she didn't relax completely, she did lean away from the rotor a bit when he leaned away. "What happened, why do you want to go home?"

"Doctor. Take me home." She repeated, she didn't even look at his shoes, she was avoiding looking at any part of him whatsoever.

"No." he said bluntly. She jumped at the similarity between how he was speaking now and how "he" was before. "Not until you tell me what happened."

"Doctor, please." She was near tears. The Doctor sighed, and stepped away from her.

"Alright, I just need you to step away from the console." She nodded and inched her way around him, as far as possible. It broke the Doctor's hearts to see her this way, he knew something had happened. He punched in the date and set the TARDIS on her way. As soon as they landed, Rose was running for the doors. By the time the Doctor and the Ponds, Amy had gotten Rory a shirt while the Doctor was talking to Rose, left the TARIDS, Rose was already in her mother's arms. When Rose heard the Doctor exit the TARIDS, she whispered something in her mother's ear, who nodded in reply. Rose was off again and the Doctor knew she was going to her room. He followed her path with sad eyes.

"Oi." Jackie Tyler said, crossing her arms. "What the _hell_ did you do to my daughter." The Doctor sighed, wondering if she was ever going to stop saying that to him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Jackie, I don't know what happened. I promise." The Doctor said, holding his hands up just in case he needed to defend himself. "We got separated when we were trying to save a ship and-" the Doctor explained quickly.

"You left her alone?!" Jackie demanded.

"It wasn't his fault, she got hurt and was taken by an alien doctor. He tried to help her, honestly…" Rory tried to help the Doctor but trailed off when he saw the Doctor's disapproving look.

"And who are you then?" Jackie asked, turning her glare onto Rory.

"Right, sorry, hello." Rory stuttered, giving a small wave. "I'm Rory, and this is my wife, Amy." He gestured to himself and Amy. "We've been traveling with the Doctor for a little over a year now."

"What happened to not doing domestics?" Jackie joked, turning to the Doctor.

"New Doctor, new rules. Though, it may be a little too domestic for my tastes." He trailed off. "Apparently, I even have a wife." He mumbled, forgetting who he was talking to. Jackie shot the Doctor an evil look before heading to Rose's room. The Ponds looked around, feeling rather uncomfortable while the Doctor went about making himself a cup of tea. After it was done, he laid himself down on the couch. The Ponds looked at him oddly and he did the same right back to them.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked him, unable to keep the tone from her voice.

"Making myself comfortable." He replied like it was obvious. "I've been here before. Even had Christmas dinner here." He continued, reliving that night. The Ponds shrugged and walked over to the open lounge chairs and the three of them sat in silence, waiting for either of the Tyler women to appear. After an hour of sitting in silence, Jackie entered the sitting area.

"She wants to speak with you." Jackie said solemnly, gesturing to Rose's room. The Doctor felt dread begin to pool in his stomach at Jackie's tone. He walked to Rose's door and knocked lightly. He heard a soft reply and turned the handle.

* * *

Rose was sitting on her bed, her large comforter drawn up around her. She thanked her mother as she stood from the bed.

"Course sweetheart." She said softly, brushing a lock of hair out of Rose's face. Jackie gave her a small smile before she turned and left the room to get the Doctor. Seconds later, Rose heard a soft knock on the door. Rose pulled her blanket closer as she called for him to enter. She tried to keep eye contact with the man that entered the room, and failed. Rose stared at the floor in front of her, feeling ashamed. She felt the bed move as she sat down next to her.

"Hey," he began, knocking his shoulder against hers, "what's wrong." Rose risked a glance at him and found that he was searching her face for answers.

"Nothing, just a dream. It shook me up quite a bit."

"Sounds like quite the dream." He replied, looking at the wall across from them. "You want to share with the class?" he asked quietly. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Rose was gathering up the courage to speak and was trying to find the right words.

"It was…um, about you." She whispered, sad that the dream even happened.

"No wonder you've been jumpy around me. I'm here to clear the air if you wish to elaborate."

"You were leaving me. You told me that I was bane of your existence. Not in so few words but, that was the-" Rose's confession was cut short by the Doctor pulling her in for a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He said into her blanket. "You know I would never do that right?" he asked her, pulling her out to arm's length to look in her eyes before pulling her back in again.

"Of course, I know that." She muttered into his shoulder, returning the hug with as much zeal that he had. "It was hard seeing the Doctors that I love acting in such a way." she said quietly. A second later, she gasped, realizing what she had said. Rose felt the Doctor's arms fall to his sides awkwardly and she stared at her hands, unable to look him in the eye. She had said it to him before, but did that technically not happen? "Sorry, I-I just mean they were so close to me. I didn't mean it like that." She stuttered as she looked up sheepishly, her cheeks burning.

"It's alright." He said, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips.

"What?" Rose said, her face going slack from shock.

"In fact, it's bloody _fantastic_!" the Doctor yelled, a large grin spreading across his face. Rose let a small smile slip at the use of his 9th body's favorite word.

"Doctor, what do you mean?" she asked him as he sat back away from her.

"Rose Tyler." He said, she could tell he was trying to be serious. Trying being the operative word. He still had the goofy grin spread across his face. "I've been wanting to say this to you ever since that day on the beach." He said, his impossibly large smile growing. Rose's breath caught and she felt her heart quicken in the anticipation of what was about to come. He cleared his throat and fixed his hair before beginning again. Rose giggled at his fixation on his hair. "Rose Tyler, I-." He stopped, suddenly unsure of how to finish the sentence. Rose looked at him sadly and put her hand on his cheek.

"It's alright." She told him as he leaned into her hand. "I know." Rose was saddened slightly when she saw relief rush across his face but understood why it was there.

"Come here." He whispered. Rose leaned forward slightly, thinking he was going to hug her. She was surprised when he took her face in his . He leaned forward slowly, as if checking to see if she, or himself, was okay with this. Eventually, their lips met and Rose let out a sigh of contentment. He pulled away all too soon and smiled at her. "Ready to go home?" he asked her as he got up from the bed, holding out his hand. She nodded as she reached to grab it. He pulled her off the bed and out of the room. They were met by the shocked faces of Jackie and the Ponds.

"Everything alright?" Amy asked them. "You work it out?" Amy looked at the pair quizzically when Rose blushed as the Doctor simply nodded.

"Come along Ponds! Onto a new adventure!" the Doctor called as he pulled Rose out of the flat. He heard the couple rush to catch up with them, Rory thanking Jackie for her hospitality. Soon, they were back in the TARDIS and the Doctor was flipping doohickies and pushing thingamabobers to get them where they needed to go. He had just gotten them into the Vortex when the group heard a strange knocking noise as the door of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked worried but walked over to the door and opened it. He gave out a short laugh when he saw what it was.

"Doctor? What is that?" Rose called. The Doctor turned, a huge smile on his face and a glowing white cube in his hands.

"I've got mail!" he said as if he was disbelieving.


	12. Chapter 12

"Mail?" Rose asked him again. The Doctor seemed to be unaware that she was talking for he was too entranced in what he was looking at. "Doctor?" she called, walking up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped at the contact and spun around, his smile falling from his face.

"What? Ah yes, mail." He smiled again, admiring the glowing box in his hands. "It's a Time Lord emergency messaging system. In an emergency, we'd wrap up thoughts in psychic containers and send them out through time and space." He explained as he ran up to the console. "Anyway, there's a living Time Lord sstill out there, and it's one of the good ones!"

"Doctor, what if this is just a delayed message? Or a message form another species?" Rose asked him softly. She knew he'd be crushed if this was a false lead.

"Yea, you said there weren't any other Time Lords left." Rory said, adding to her point.

"There are no Time Lords left anywhere in the universe. But the universe isn't where we're going. Besides, I think I know the things made by my own people." The Doctor said harshly, looking directly at Rose.

"I'm sure that's what you thought before you saw the Genesis Ark." Rose retorted coldly. The Doctor glared back at her for a second while Amy and Rory watched the exchange. Both were too scared to get between them

"See the snake?" he asked, pointing to the image of a snake eating its own tail. "The mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration." He said, reminiscing. He turned back to the controls, working on pulling them out of the universe. "Didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooo, she was a bad girl." He said with a wicked grin as he flipped a lever. "Sorry." He added quietly out of impulse when he saw Rose's disapproving look. They were all thrown around the console room when the TARDIS gave a loud bang and spun this way and that.

"What is happening?" Rory shouted, sounding very tired of saying hello to the floor with his face.

"We're leaving the universe!" the Doctor yelled back, struggling to stay upright against the console.

"How can you leave the universe?" Amy asked, holding onto one of the bars surrounding the console for support.

"With extreme difficulty." The Doctor replied, flipping switches as he ran around the console. "Right now I'm burning up TARDIS rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye swimming pool. Adios, scullery. Sayonara, squash court seven." The group screamed as the ride got rougher. The Doctor in joy, everyone else, in fear. They landed with a sizeable thump, everyone was still to make sure that it was safe before standing.

"Okay, where are we?" Amy asked slowly.

"Outside the universe." The Doctor grinned. "Where we've never gone before." The Doctor looked at Rose, who also had a mad grin on her face. Neither one could get enough of the unknown. There was a hum as the TARDIS lights began to dim before fully going out.

"Is that meant to happen?" Rory asked, worried as he made his way over to Amy.

"The power, it's draining. Everything's draining." The Doctor said, disbelieving. "But it can't. That's, that's impossible." He whispered.

"Why is that?"

"It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished. Where would it go?" he wondered, reaching out to stroke the time rotor.


	13. Chapter 13

"So what kind of trouble's your friend in?" Amy asked the Doctor when they stepped out of the TARDIS to see where they had landed.

"He was in a bind. A bit of a cucumber, wait. That's supposed to be another kind of food." He said to himself, sidetracked as he looked at the back end of a crashed spaceship.

"A bit of a pickle." Rose reminded him as she came up next to him.

"Yes! A pickle. Sort of distressed." The Doctor continued happily.

"You could just say you don't know." Amy mumble as she walked towards a box that resembled a washing machine.

"But what is this place?" Rory asked, walking up behind Rose and the Doctor. "Is it like the scrap yard at the end of the universe?"

"Not end of, outside of." The Doctor corrected, leaving Rose to ogle the spaceship.

"How can we be outside the universe? The universe is everything?" Rory asked the Doctor as she put his arm around Rory's shoulder and led him towards the TARDIS.

"Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside." The Doctor explained.

"Okay."

"Well, it's nothing like that." The Doctor replied dully, making Rory roll his eyes and spin out of the Doctor's grasp. Rose laughed at Rory's reaction as she went to examine some of the junk under a tarp of some kind. "Look at her. Completely drained." The Doctor exclaimed, exasperated at the TARDIS's condition. He stroked the ship's doorframe fondly, as if he could coax her back to full power.

"Wait. So we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of the bigger bubble universe?" Amy guessed, waving around a spatula she found.

"Yes, no. But if it helps, yes. This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here." The Doctor guessed. Rose stopped rifling through the junk and looked at him when he said probably. "Now, this place. What do we think?" he asked. "Gravity's almost Earth normal, air's breathable." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Bit it smells like…"

"Armpits." Amy finished. She and Rory had joined Rose in her investigation of the pile of junk under the tarp.

"Armpits." The Doctor parroted, jumping into a bathtub.

"What about all this stuff?" Rory asked, tapping a hanging decoration. "Where did all of this come from?"

"Well, there's the rift." The Doctor guessed. "Now and then stuff gets sucked through it. Not a bubble a plughole." The Doctor said. His companions looked at him, surprised by his random outburst. "The universe is a plughole, and we've just fallen through it." The Doctor said happily, finally figuring out what to call this place. Not long after he stopped talking, the group heard a woman yelling rather frantically.

"Thief! Thief! You're my thief!" A woman came running around the corner and headed straight for the Doctor. Two people came running after her. A rather odd looking man and woman.

"She's dangerous. Guard yourselves." The woman panted.

"Look at you." The mad woman said happily. "Goodbye. No, not goodbye, what's the other one?" she said quickly. When she couldn't find the word within a second, she changed the subject by kissing the Doctor. Rose and Amy gaped, unable to move to help the Doctor.

"Watch out. Careful." The man said, pulling the mad woman off of the Doctor. The Doctor still had a shocked expression on his face as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked at Rose, glad to see that she was just as shocked as he was and not angry. "Keep back from her. Welcome, strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person."

"Why am I a thief? What have I stolen?" The Doctor asked her, his mind catching up with his body.

"Me. You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh tenses are difficult aren't they." She replied, talking faster than Rose had ever heard the Doctor talk.

"Oh. Oh we are sorry, my dove. She's off her head. They call me Auntie." The strange woman said.

"And I'm Uncle. I'm everybody's Uncle." The man said, walking forward to shake the Doctor's hand and cup his neck. "Just keep back from this one, she bites!"

"Do I?" she asked, walking up next to the Doctor. "Excellent." She grabbed his neck and bit into it. Once again, Auntie and Uncle had to pull her off the Doctor.

"Ow! Ow!" the Doctor cried, pressing his hand to his neck. Rose walked up to him to check it.

"Biting's excellent. It's like kissing. Only there's a winner." She said happily.

"So sorry. She's doolally." Uncle explained, shaking his head.

"No, I'm not doolally. I'm. I'm. It's on the tip of my tongue." She paused, cocking her head. "I've just had a new idea about kissing, come here you." She went for the Doctor again. He promptly jumped from the tub he was still standing in and pulled Rose behind the Ponds.

"No, Idris. No." Auntie said to the mad woman.

"Oh, my thief. Now you're angry. No you're not. You _will_ be angry." Idris corrected herself. "The little boxes will make you angry." She told the Doctor, her head tilted to the side.

"Sorry. The little what? Boxes?" the Doctor asked, taking a step forward.

"Oh, ho, no. Your chin is hilarious." Idris laughed, grabbing the Doctor's chin. "It means the smell of dust after rain." She explained, snapping to look at Rory.

"What does?" Rory asked, thoroughly confused by it all.

"Petrichor."

"But I didn't ask."

"Not yet. But you will." She said with a small smile. She turned to look at Rose. "My cub. Oh my poor cub." She sighed sadly, walking forward to cup Rose's cheek. "I am so sorry for what has happened. Will happen? Is happening? Even I can't tell anymore."

"What?" Rose asked, jerking away from Idris' touch and taking a step back.

"I was too late in realizing what happened. Now I can't do anything to help."

"What? What has happened?" The Doctor demanded, stepping in front of Rose. Idris was about to reply before Auntie interrupted her.

"No, no, Idris. I think you should have a rest." She said quickly before the fast talking mad woman could get a word out.

"Rest. Yes, yes. Good idea. I'll just see if there's an off switch." Idris said before she collapsed. The Doctor and Rory moved to catch her. They laid her down in a chair that was under the tarp.

"Is that it? She's dead now, so sad." Uncle said, sounding very unremorseful.

"No, she's still breathing." Rory informed Uncle, missing his tone.

"Nephew, take Idris somewhere she cannot bite people." Uncle waved an Ood over. The Doctor and his companions jumped at the sudden appearance of the Ood.

"Oh, hello!" the Doctor cried upon seeing a "familiar" face. The Ponds relaxed as soon as the Doctor did. Rose however, remained tense. The only time she had encountered any kind of Ood was on Krop Tor. Even though she knew they were possessed by a demon or something, the experience was unsettling nonetheless.

"Doctor, what is that?" Amy asked, still slightly wary of the strange alien.

"Oh, no. It's alright. It's an Ood. Oods are good. Love an Ood." The Doctor said happily, walking towards Nephew. "Hello, Ood. Can't you talk?" he looked down at the unresponsive ball still clipped to his uniform. "Oh, I see. It's damaged. May I?" he held his hands out and Nephew nodded his permission. The Doctor unclipped it and opened it up. "It might just be on the wrong frequency." He began fiddling with the internal mechanisms.

"Nephew was broken when he came here. Why, he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us." Auntie said, gesturing to the group of misfits. The Doctor clicked the top half the sphere back onto the bottom half and the sphere suddenly turned on. A chorus of voices surrounded the group and the Doctor spun in a circle, trying to find the location that they were coming from.

"If you are receiving this message, please help me." A voice stood out from the bunch. The Doctor recognized it as the voice of Corsair. He felt a pang of sorrow when he thought that this might be the last time he would ever hear him, despite his hopes. "Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive. I don't know where I am. I'm-I'm on some sort of rock-like planet…" the voices faded when Nephew turned off the sphere.

"What was that?" Rory asked worriedly as Rose went to put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Was that him?"

"No, no." the Doctor said quietly. He jerked out from under Rose's hand, ignoring her hurt look. "It's picking up something else. But that's, that's not possible. That's, that's" he looked around, not really sure what to focus on. He turned towards Auntie and Uncle. "Who else is here? Tell me. Show me. Show me." He pleaded. Rose stood off to the side, feeling horrible. The man she loved was distressed and all she could think about was the dream she had. She knew he was shaken up, but he didn't have to respond like that, did he? Amy, as if sensing Rose's inner turmoil, came to stand next to her and put her arm around her shoulders.

"Just what you see. Just the four of us." Auntie replied, gesturing to herself, Uncle, Nephew, and Idris. "And the House. Nephew, will you take idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody?"

"The House? What's the House?"

"House is all around you, my sweets. You are standing on him. This is the House." She explained, gesturing to the floor. "This world. Would you like to meet him?"

"Meet him?" Rory asked.

"I'd love too." The Doctor answered, holding up a finger to stop Rory.

"This way. Come, please. Come." Uncle said, leading them along a path. Auntie and Uncle didn't wait for them when the Doctor held back.

"What's wrong? What were those voices?" Amy asked, bringing Rory with her as she walked up beside the Doctor. Rose stayed back, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Time Lords. It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of Time Lords." He said, unable to keep the hope from his voice. "Look, you guys go ahead, wouldn't want to keep them waiting." He asked, smiling when Amy nodded in understanding. She pulled Rory along with her up the path. The Doctor waited a few seconds for Rose to walk up and sighed when she didn't. He walked back and put his hand on her shoulder, happy when she didn't turn away. "I'm sorry about earlier. I was just-"

"I know Doctor, it's fine." Rose said, painting on a fake smile.

"No, it's really not. Are you sure you're okay? I mean with that dream you had, I'm pretty sure you're still shaken about-"

"Of course I'm okay." Rose interrupted, "I'm always okay." She said before she walked off to catch up with the Ponds. The Doctor sighed, feeling guiltier than before when she used his patented phrase from his last body. He gave her some space before he slowly walked after her into the spaceship.

* * *

"Come. Come, come." Uncle was saying when the Doctor walked in. "You can see the House and he can look at you." The Doctor walked up to the grating in the floor Auntie and Uncle were pointing at. He looked down and was surprised by what he saw.

"I see. The asteroid is sentient." He said, straightening.

"We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food." Auntie listed with a smile.

"Smell its armpits." Amy whispered, making Rory and Rose smile.

"And do my will." A deep voice said, coming from the mouths from Auntie and Uncle. "You are most welcome travelers."

"Doctor, that voice. That's the asteroid talking?" Amy asked, startled by Auntie and Uncle's blank expressions.

"Yes. So you're like a sea urchin. Hard outer surface, that's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside, that's you." The Doctor asked, squatting down to tap on the floor.

"That is correct, Time Lord."

"Ah. So you've met Time Lords before?"

"Many travelers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break." The House explained.

"So there are Time Lords here then?"

"Not anymore, but there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by."

"Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS." The Doctor said sadly.

"A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will." The House said before leaving Auntie and Uncle, and Nephew who had appeared out of nowhere again.

"We're not actually going to stay here, are we?" Rory asked, hoping to leave as soon as possible.

"Well, it seems like a friendly planet. Literally. Mind if we poke around a bit?" he asked Auntie.

"You can look all you want. Go. Look." She put her hands on Amy's cheeks, revealing a rather robust left arm that was hidden under her sleeve. "House likes you." Auntie said before she, Uncle, and Nephew wandered off.

"Come on then, gang. We're just going to see the sights." The Doctor said before taking off down one of the corridors.

* * *

They were beginning to walk down their third corridor when the group heard Idris shouting for her thief.

"So, as soon as the TARDIS is refueled, we go, yeah?" Rory asked when the Doctor stopped, trying to figure out which direction Idris' calls were coming from.

"No. There are Time Lords here. I heard them and they need me."

"You told me about your people, and you told me what you did." Amy said. Rose's head snapped up, the Doctor had told her about the Time War, but not about his people. Not much anyway.

"Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, there good ones and I can save them." The Doctor said, ecstatic.

"And tell them you destroyed the others?"

"I can explain. Tell them why I had to." The Doctor retorted, sounding hurt.

"You want to be forgiven." Amy told him.

"Don't we all." The Doctor replied sadly, his eyes flickering to Rose.

"What do you need from me?" Amy asked him. If they were stuck here, she might as well help.

"My screwdriver. I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket." He said, patting his jacket quickly. Rose raised an eyebrow at him, she knew he _never_ left the TARDIS without making sure he had his screwdriver.

"You're wearing your jacket." Rory stated.

"My other jacket."

"You have two of those?" Rory asked, disbelieving.

"Of course! My last body had two suits, different colors of course." The Doctor said with a smile.

"Yeah, but the body before that wore the same leather jacket. You only ever changed your jumper!" Rose snorted.

"Okay, I'll get it." Amy interrupted, not wanting any chance of a fight. "But Doctor, listen to me. Don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes." She told him, tossing him her mobile.

"Yes boss." He said, his eyes sliding to Rose again.

"I'll go help her look." Rose said, turning from the Doctor's glare. Amy nodded and turned to the Doctor again.

"I'll call you from the TARDIS. Rory, look after him." She demanded as she and Rose started off down the corridor.

"Rory, look after them." The Doctor commanded as he started off the other direction. Rory stood, unsure of which direction to go before going after his wife.

* * *

"I told you to look after him." Amy said, annoyed as they walked towards the dark TARDIS.

"He'll be fine. He's a Time Lord." Rory said like it was obvious.

"That's just what they're called. It doesn't mean he actually knows what he's doing." Amy told him before turning to go into the TARDIS. Rose snorted and left Rory unsure if he chose correctly before he followed them inside, closing the door behind them. Outside the TARDIS, green smoke came out of the asteroid and began surrounding the TARDIS and its occupants.


	14. Chapter 14

Amy walked over to the console, picking up the phone off of the receiver. Rose laughed at how annoyed Amy looked at doing the Doctor's errands.

"Hey, we're here. Screwdriver's in your jacket yeah?" she asked him when he picked up. She paused, listening to what he was saying. Rose spun around when she heard the door lock. Amy slowly put the phone back on the receiver. "Did you do that?" she asked them.

"I didn't do anything." Rory answered, looking at Rose. She shook her head and walked towards the doors. "Right. Jacket." Rory said, clapping his hands and began to search for the Doctor's mysterious second jacket. Rose reached the doors and tested them with a firm shake.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." She sighed. "I swear, if he keeps doin this. I'm going to slap him so hard he'll regenerate." She leaned back against the doors, half hoping that they would open and she'd be dumped on the floor.

"What'd he do?" Rory asked, his head popping up from under the console.

"Locked the doors. He always does this." Rose told him, pushing off of the doors.

"What if it's an automatic response? Power goes out, doors lock. I might have triggered something while I was looking down there."

"He's done this to me before. He wants to do something and thinks that I can't help, he ships me off somewhere. Always ends badly though." Rose told him.

"This doesn't have to be like one of those times." He replied, coming up the short staircase. "There is one way to find out." He continued, nodding at the phone.

"Rory, Rory, Rory…" Amy chided. "You've forgotten rule number one."

"Don't wander off?" Rose asked, confused. Amy and Rory looked at her, possibly even more confused than she was.

"That's rule number one?" Amy asked her.

"Was when I was with him."

"I haven't heard of any other of his rules. Only told us the one. Did he have any others?" Rory asked, looking truly interested.

"Not really. He did have one that was sorta a joke between him and a friend of ours." She smiled at the memory. "Hands off the blonde. He was a flirt, the friend." Rose explained at their shocked looks. "The rest were guidelines really, or just helpful tips."

"Well, seeing as he's not answering, we have some time to kill before I try again." Amy prompted, placing the phone back on the receiver.

"Okay," Rose sighed, sitting down in the jump seat, trying to remember some of the Doctor's best. "Is he still in love with bananas? I keep forgetting to ask him that. His ninth self always said, 'Bananas are good.'" She quoted, laughing at her failed attempt at his accent. "His tenth self told me once, 'Always bring a banana to a party.' At the time he was trying to look like a party goer, even tied his tie around his head!" Rose laughed, remembering how mad she was at him for leaving her behind.

"He tried telling me the don't wander off rule, I always took it as a guideline." Amy laughed. "How about I try him again. I bet he has his phone on vibrate or something." Amy muttered, punching in the number again. "No sonic screwdriver. Also the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but Rose and I think you lied to us." Rose and Rory watched as Amy talked to the rather annoying Time Lord. "What, we're not good enough for your smart new friends?"

Pause.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?"

Pause.

"We don't have much choice." Amy finished, looking at the door. She waited to hear more but when she heard nothing, she slammed the phone down and muttered, "Rude."

Rose laughed when she added, "And not ginger." She waved off the couple's confusion and Amy grew serious.

"He's not trusting us and he's being emotional. This is bad. This is very, very bad." She whispered, leaning over the console.

"Yeah, I think it probably is." Rory said, stepping away from the doors. Amy's head snapped up, surprised that he was agreeing with her. Her stomach dropped when she saw what he was seeing.

"Sometimes I hate being right." She said as she watched a green light shine through the windows.

"I'm right there with you." Rose agreed, walking back to stand with the Ponds. They all stood in silence as they watched the light slowly intensify before fading away, looking as it was moving up. Frequently, a duller light would waft in front of the windows, as if something was circling the TARDIS. They all jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. Amy quickly picked it up and Rory jumped into action, he ran to the doors and desperately tried to open them. Rose was still rooted to the spot and she could hear the Doctor yelling through the telephone.

"Amy?! You, Rory, and Rose have to get the hell out of there!" he shouted into the receiver.

"Doctor, something's wrong." Amy told him, choosing the obvious instead of the already said.

"It's House. He's after the TARDIS. Just get out!"

"We can't. You locked the door, remember?"

"But I've unlocked it." He panted, Rose guessed that he was running. The thought calmed her a bit.

"You stupid well haven't." Amy retorted. The Cloister bell began to toll and everyone felt the shift as the TARDIS something was worming its way inside. "Doctor, I don't like this." She said quietly. They began to hear the Doctor yell at his beloved ship.

"Open!" he tried again. Rose ran to the doors and began to pound.

"Doctor?!" she cried, reaching up to the windows. "Doctor, I'm scared." She said just loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't worry, I will get in there. One way or another."

"Doctor?" Rose whispered through the door. "Please don't take too long." The Doctor laughed lightly, which was soon replaced by dread as he saw the TARIDS dematerialize. _That's not something you see every day_ … he said to himself.

"Rory, hold my hand." Amy said as Rose leaned her head against the doors. They stood there in silence, until Rose finally turned from the doors and joined the Ponds by the console.

"Listen, whatever happens, at least we're together. And we're in the TARDIS, so we're safe." Rory told his wife and his friend, looking them both in the eye.

"Yeah." Amy said with a small smile while Rose nodded.

"Well, you're half right." A voice said, making them all jump and look around. "I mean, you are I the TARDIS. What a great adventure. I should have done this half a million years ago. So, Amy, Rory, Rose, Why shouldn't I just kill you now?" the voice asked.

"Hey, you're the asteroid thing aren't you." Amy asked him.

"That's right."

"So it's House isn't it?" Amy said, trying to stall as long as possible. "How'd you find your way into the TARDIS?"

"It was quite simple, actually." House gloated. "I just deleted the TARDIS matrix."

"But that's impossible." Rose whispered. "The TARDIS is a _living_ thing. You can't just delete something like that."

"I think you'll find there are many things in the universes that you would consider impossible that are very possible." He chided. House gasped suddenly causing the group to jump. "It is so spacious in here! I've only ever seen a TARDIS from the outside, I should have done this the first time a Time Lord landed here. I have whole floors, rooms, corridors…" he trailed off, mystified to have so much room. "I have corridors. So much to learn about my new home." He said joyfully. "But you haven't answered my question, children."

"Question?" Rory asked, hoping to get a different question than before.

"You remember. Tell me why I shouldn't just kill you all now?" House repeated, growing impatient.

"Well, because." Amy began, looking at Rose and Rory for help. "Rory, why?"

"Uh, because killing us quickly wouldn't be any fun." Rory said quickly. "And you need fun, don't you? That's what Uncle and Auntie were for, wasn't it? Someone to make suffer." He looked at Amy and Rose, thinking that this was the best answer for the situation. His hopeful look was met by two very perplexed looks. "I had a P.E. teacher just like you once." He added as an afterthought. "You need to be entertained, and killing us quickly wouldn't be entertainment."

"So entertain me." House said simply. "Run." He commanded in the same monotone as before when they didn't immediately move. Amy grabbed Rory's hand and took off out of the console room, Rose following close behind.

* * *

"So are we having fun yet? I'm rather enjoying the sensation of having you running around inside me." House said suddenly.

"Creep." Rose muttered under her breath. They were running down one corridor when, seemingly out of nowhere, another corridor opened up in the floor. Amy stopped nearly too late and was pulled upright by Rory.

"I've turned off the corridor anti-gravs, so do be careful." He said, sounding quite amused.

"Come on." Amy said as she began to edge around the opening. She reached another corridor when Rory began to edge across when he almost fell into the pit. Both Amy and Rose went to catch him. Amy was able to keep him steady while Rose was teetering on the edge. Rory grabbed her hand and he finished inching around. When he did, he had moved so much that Rose had now slipped and Amy grabbed her other hand. Now the couple was struggling to keep Rose from falling completely into the hole.

"You need to keep moving. God knows what he's going to do next." Rose gasped as they tried to pull her up.

"We're not leaving you." Amy told her. "Who knows what's down there. Knowing the Doctor, you could fall into a lava pit or something." She laughed dryly.

"You know me, I can survive anything." Rose said as she let go of their wrists.

"You sure about that?" Rory asked as she began to slip.

"No." Rose said truthfully and she saw the panic in Amy and Rory's eyes as she began to fall. She wasn't sure how long she fell for, but Rose heard Amy scream before she died from the impact of hitting a wall or the floor. Rose wasn't exactly too sure, nor did she care. When she awoke, she heard House saying something about gravity before she was pushed into the floor. The floor, she realized, was actually the door in a corridor. When she could move again, Rose curled up in a ball in the the corner. Her head was pounding. She put her arms over her head, hoping somehow, that the pain would stop if she protected her head.

* * *

The Doctor looked over to see Idris materialize at the base of the stairs.

"Doctor, are you there? It's so very dark in here." She said, looking around blindly.

"I'm here." He said, walking over to stand in front of her. She followed the sound of his voice and looked down at him.

"I've been looking for a word. A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now."

"What word?"

"Alive." Idris said sadly. "I'm alive."

"Alive isn't sad." The Doctor replied, hardly able to hold back the approaching tears.

"It's sad when it's over." She sounded as though she could barely hold them back herself. "I'll always be here, but this is when we talked, and now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you."

"Goodbye?" The Doctor guessed, tears beginning to gleam in his eyes.

"No. I just wanted to say hello." She took a deep breath, calming herself. "Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you." She sobbed as she began to dissipate.

"Please. I don't want you to. Please." The Doctor begged, knowing that she couldn't. He watched her fade completely, returning to her home. The Doctor sniffed and put his hands over his face. Amy walked over to him, her own tears in her eyes.

"Doctor…" she whispered, moving to put her hand on his shoulder. Before she could, the Doctor spun around quickly, his hands gone from his face.

"Rose." He gasped. "Where's Rose? Did House do something to her?"

"She fell down a corridor." Rory said slowly.

"Fell?"

"House said he turned off the anti-grav." Amy explained. The Doctor looked at them both before taking off up the stairs and down various corridors. He sent the TARDIS a silent thank you when she moved the corridors around so he could get to Rose faster.

"Rose!" he yelled when he saw a Rose sized ball in the corner of the corridor. She flinched at the noise but began to uncurl herself. "Rose, are you alright?" he asked when he reached her. She looked tired, very tired. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Well, nothing besides the usual when someone like me falls nearly one hundred feet." She joked dryly. The Doctor flinched at the words. "Sorry. It's just this blasted headache I've had for the longest time." She explained, cradling her forehead.

"How long have you had it?"

"A little while after we split up." Rose said. She looked up when nobody answered her, her gaze meeting blank looks. "Sorry. A little while after we split up with the Silence and the blue envelopes." She elaborated.

"Rose. Why haven't you told me about it?" the Doctor demanded.

"It's no big deal alright?" she said, suddenly defensive. "I hardly notice it most of the time. Only every once in a while does it get really bad." She moved to stand and the Doctor helped steady her. "How bout we just get back to the console room, hm?" the Doctor nodded and helped her down the corridor.

* * *

Rose was lounging in the jump seat while the Doctor worked on putting a fire wall around the Matrix. The Ponds had long gone to bed so they were the only ones in the console room. "I'm sorry." Rose said suddenly.

"Hm? Bout what?" the Doctor replied.

"The TARDIS. You finally get a chance to speak with her and it gets taken away." She said sadly, playing with a couple pieces of her hair. "I have some idea of what that's like, so I'm sorry I couldn't be here when it happened."

"What happened to you?" the Doctor asked, cleverly avoiding the question.

"It was a year until I saw you again on Bad Wolf Bay. I'm not sure how long it was for you, but it was a _very_ long year for me." She stood and walked down the short flight of stairs to reach the Doctor. She plopped down and watched the Doctor work. He stopped working for a beat and lifted the goggles he was wearing.

"I'm sorry about that."

"It wasn't your fault." She assured him with a small smile. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm alwa-" he began auomatically, stopping when he saw her look. "I'll be fine, in time." He sighed and turned back to his work. Rose watched him and a slow, evil grin worked its way across her face. "What are you planning?" he asked, not needing to see her face to know something was up.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking…"

"Rose Tyler. It is always dangerous when you think." He turned to look at her again. "No offense. It just usually ends with me getting slapped or Reapers appearing whenever you suggest something after a grin like that." He covered quickly.

"As I was saying, maybe a Tyler Christmas dinner will lift your spirits." She told him happily, her tongue poking through her teeth. He sighed in defeat.

"Go call her, we'll go when the Ponds get up." He turned back to connecting wires. She laughed gleefully and pulled out her mobile. He heard her talking to her mother, telling her to expect them and two others for Christmas dinner. He connected two of the wrong wires, causing the TARDIS to shake.

"Oi!" Rose yelled as she fell into the jump seat again.


	15. Chapter 15

It was a few weeks after the Doctor had taken them to visit Rose's mother for Christmas and everyone was going about the console room, doing their own activity. The Ponds were in the middle of a heated darts game, the Doctor was looking at the monitor attached to the console, and Rose was trying to read. Trying being the operative word. As soon as she walked into the console room and sat down in the jump seat with a book of Poe, the Doctor decided _then_ was the best time to blare music throughout the TARDIS. She was only able to read one line per song, for she was re-reading the same line the whole time. Rose sighed and closed her book. She turned to say something to the Doctor about the music and stopped when she saw his face. The Doctor was staring at something on the monitor with an intense expression on his face.

"Doctor…" She began, moving to get up from the jump seat.

"Who wants fish and chips?" he asked suddenly, turning away from the monitor. Rory, through confused, raised his hand slowly. "I'll drop you both off. Take your time. Don't rush." He glanced at Rose. "You want to get some chips?" he asked with a small smile. Rose shook her head and his smile fell.

"Um, what about you?" Rory asked, causing the Doctor to spin around on his heel.

"Things to do. Things involving other things." The Doctor said simply.

"Well, we'll stay with you." Amy told him just as simply, crossing her arms, making Rose smile. "We'll do the other things."

"Nope."

"Whatever you're up to, I'd personally like to be a part of it." Amy challenged, growing angry. "What?" she asked him when he simply stared at her. Suddenly an alarm began to blare, causing everyone to jump. Rose, Amy, and Rory tried to grab onto something while the Doctor lunged for the console when the TARDIS lurched.

"Solar tsunami." The Doctor informed them, looking at the monitor. "Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big."

"Doctor, my tummy's going funny." Rory groaned as the Doctor ran about the console.

"Doctor?" Rose called. Her voice was drowned out by the sound of the alarm.

"Assume crash positions!" the Doctor yelled as the TARDIS began shaking. Rose looked at the Ponds in confusion. They had seemingly done this many times for they had gotten hold of something and were still able to cover their heads. Rose did her best to copy them, thankful that a few seconds later that it was over. Everyone slowly uncurled from their crash positions to see the Doctor standing awkwardly by the console. "Textbook landing."

"By whose standards?" Rose scoffed, rubbing her forehead.

"You alright?" the Doctor asked her hurriedly, rushing over to her and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Tip top shape." She replied cheekily, giving him a peck on the lips and a smile. He gave her a disbelieving look and she sighed. "Really, I'm fine." She relented, putting her hand on his cheek. "It's just this headache I've had forever." He looked down at her with the same look that he had given Amy, but this one had so much more pain in it. Before Rose had a chance to ask him about him, he spun away and ran to the doors. The Ponds, who had turned around or looked away, looked at the Doctor in surprise as he wrenched the TARDIS doors open.

"Behold, a cockerel! Love a cockerel." He said, overenthusiastic. Rose sighed and stepped out behind him, the Ponds following. Rose gasped at the view they were suddenly given. While she was standing on the edge of the cliff, breathing in the sea air, she could hear Rory, Amy and the Doctor talking about pumping something off of the island and Dusty Springfield? She sighed and turned around, her head was pounding but the air was clearing it a bit. As she did, she glanced at the TARDIS, she gasped when she saw the same woman from weeks ago looking at her through a slot in the side of the TARDIS. Rose's head flared when she saw the woman and she put her hand on the side of her head and groaned. The woman sneered before the slot closed. Rose looked up to see the Doctor running towards her.

"Rose, are you certain you didn't hurt yourself?" he begged when he reached her. The Ponds were looking on with worry by the entrance of the monastery.

"Yea. Don't worry, I'm fine." She lied with a smile. He looked at her, not quite believing her, but nodded and held his hand out to her, waggling his fingers. She smiled at the memory of the gesture as she took his hand.

* * *

"So where are these Dusty Springfield loving monks, then?" Amy asked as they passed through the entrance of the monastery. She smiled when she saw Rose and the Doctor holding hands while they walked.

"I think we're here." The Doctor said absentmindedly, sounding like he got the location correct. "This is it." He looked around the courtyard they had walking into, making his way towards another archway that lead inside.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Rory asked him, walking up behind the pair. "We've never been here before."

"Hm?" the Doctor muttered, turning around, dropping Rose's hand.

"We came here by accident?" Amy asked him, catching on to what Rory was thinking.

"Accident?" the Doctor asked, unsure. "Yes, I know. Accident." He realized, smiling. Rory rolled his eyes and put his hand on the railing.

"Ow!" he yelled, jerking his hand away. Rose jumped and Amy rushed to his side.

"Acid." The Doctor informed them, scanning the liquid that was pooling on the surface of the railing. Rose looked at him in surprise.

"What?" she cried, turning to Rory, she joined Amy in her inspection of Rory's finger.

"They're pumping acid off this island." He murmured, staring out to the beach where he saw the pipe. "Don't worry, that's old stuff. Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger." He assured them as Amy kissed his finger.

**_Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert._ **

The Doctor looked around as a voice came over the loud speaker. "There are people coming. Well, almost."

"Almost coming?" Amy asked, following him and Rose through the archway.

"Almost people." He replied with a manic grin on his face. Rose looked up at him, her grin matching his.

"Uh, I think we should really be going." Rory said, pointing the other direction.

"Oh, what fun would that be?" Rose yelled over her shoulder as she and the Doctor headed down the hallway.

"Maybe not fun, but safe." He called after her. He could nearly see her rolling her eyes.

"Come on!" Amy said, exasperated. She pulled him down the hallway.


	16. Chapter 16

They soon found themselves in a circular room with five people in alcoves. They were laying in metal harnesses, unconscious.

"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked, staring at the people.

"The almost people?" Rory asked.

"I don't think so." Rose whispered, walking up to one of the harnesses.

"What are they then?" Amy asked, following the Doctor to another harness. "Prisoners? Are they meditating or what?"

"Well, at the moment, they fall into the or what category." He told her, circling into the center of the room.

 ** _Halt and remain calm._** The still blaring alarm ordered them.

"Well, we've halted. How are we all doing on the calm front?" The Doctor joked, turning to Amy and Rory. Rose joined them just as three people holding spears of some kind came running into the room.

"Don't move!" A man yelled as they ran in. He fell back as another stepped forward. The top of his orange uniform was open and Rose spun around and saw the same man resting in one of the harnesses. She tapped Amy on the shoulder and pointed to the two men. Amy looked around some more and saw that the other two people also had twins resting in the harnesses.

"Stay back Jen. We don't know who they are." The man in front told the woman walking up behind him.

"So let's ask them." She told him before turning to the group. Rose smirked, feeling like she was going to like her. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, I'm the Doctor." He informed them, gesturing to himself. "These are the Ponds. Amy, Rory." The Doctor continued, ignoring Rory mutter Williams under his breath. "And this is Rose. It's all very nice, isn't it?" he asked, smiling.

"Hold up." Amy said, causing him to turn. "You're all. What are you all? Like identical twins?" Amy asked them, glancing at Rose for support. Before anyone had the chance to say a word, which is something considering the Doctor was in the room, two more people walked into the room, wearing large suits.

"This is an Alpha Grade industrial facility." A woman said, authority and arrogance dripping from her words. "So unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble."

"Actually," the Doctor said slowly, pulling out his psychic paper. "You're in big trouble."

"Meteorological Department?" she asked, disbelieving. She took the psychic paper from him and read it quickly. "Since when?"

"Since you were hit by a solar wave."

"Which we survived."

"Just, by the look of it. And there's a bigger one on the way."

"Which we'll also survive. Dicken, scan for bugs." She said, sounding annoyed.

"Alright, backs against the wall." Dicken told them, walking forward with a scanner in his hand.

"You're not a monastery, you're a factory. A twenty second century army-owned factory." The Doctor said to himself.

"You're army?" Amy asked the woman.

"No love." She replied, looking up from the psychic paper. Rose glared at her patronizing tone, so far, this woman wasn't very high on her "Like" list. "We're contractors, and you're trespassers."

"It's all clear boss." Dicken said, his scanner beeping as he backed away.

"All right, weatherman, your ID checks out." She sighed as the Doctor pushed off the wall to collect it. "If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it? Hand out sunblock?" she asked with a smirk. Both Rose and the Doctor laughed at this. The Doctor did so to stay in character while Rose laughed at the idea of the Doctor running around trying to get enough sunblock to everyone, and probably forgetting himself. He looked back at the Ponds and Rose, who joined in the light laughter, before turning to look at the boss lady once more.

"I need to see your critical systems." He told her.

"Which one?" she asked him, hoping to catch him in a lie.

"You know which one." He said smoothly. She considered this for a second before gesturing to the door.

"Right this way." She said before leading the group. The Doctor followed her closely, the Ponds shadowing him, with Dicken taking up the rear of that small group. Rose walked a small distance behind him, with Jen and the men she came in earlier with behind her. She looked over as Jen skipped up, falling into step with her.

"Hello," she said with a small wave. "I'm Jennifer, or Jen, in case you didn't know." She gave Rose a small smile.

"Rose." She told her, being polite even though Jen already knew her name.

"I thought we could get acquainted, just in case the solar wave does some damage. My mum always said that you could never have too many friends when the going got tough." She explained hurriedly. "That's Buzzer and Jimmy." She gestured to the man with the open top and another with a wedding band on a chain around his neck. "That's Cleaves, up front. She practically runs the place."

"Oi! What'd you do that for?" Buzzer complained, obviously irked.

"You never know! It's for the best." Jen defended. She looked down at the path in front of her and the rest of the walk was made in silence. Up front, the Doctor smiled to himself at Rose's ability to make friends. Welcome or not.

They soon walked up to another heavy wooden door and Cleaves opened it and everyone filed in in silence. The Doctor was the first to break the silence after he circled around the large vat in the center of the room, which was attached to a tub.

"And there you are." He whispered.

"Meet the government's worst kept secret." Cleaves announced, walking up to stand next to the Doctor. "The Flesh. It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."

"So you're saying it grows?" Rose asked, coming up to the other side of the Doctor. Cleaves nodded, surprised that the otherwise silent girl had followed her description. Rose had picked up on a few key words she remembered from her middle school science class.

"Right, what?" Amy said, following up to Rose's question.

"Okay." Cleaves sighed, annoyed that she would still have to explain it further. "Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything. Replicate a living organism down to the hairs on its chinny chin chin. Even clothes. And everything's identical. Eyes, voice…"

"Mind, soul?" the Doctor said, his head resting on his hands on the edge of the vat.

"Don't be fooled, Doctor." Cleaves tutted, turning her glare onto the Doctor. "It acts like life but it still needs to be controlled by us, from those harnesses you saw."

"Wait, whoa. Hold it." Rory said suddenly. "So, you're Flesh now?"

"I'm lying in a harness back kin that chamber. We all are, except Jennifer here. Don't be scared." She told him, only slightly easing his distraught expression. "This thing, just like operating a forklift truck." Rose frowned at the correlation. Forklifts, if used incorrectly, could be very dangerous.

"You said it could grow." The Doctor said quietly. He had been staring at the vat of the milk like liquid, now he turned to look at Cleaves. "Only living things grow."

"Moss grows. It's no more than that." She replied with an uncaring shrug. She turned back around and the Doctor resumed to stare at the Flesh. Rose rubbed his back, feeling the anger coming off of him. He turned his head and gave her a small smile. "This acid is so dangerous we were losing a worker every week." She continued to explain. "So, now we mine the acid using doppelgangers. Or Gangers. If these bodies get burnt or fall into the acid-"

"Then who the hell cares, right, Jen?" Buzzer said, turning to look at Jennifer, a smirk on his face. She looked surprised at the sudden attention, but tried explaining it better.

"Nerve endings automatically cut off like airbags being discharged. We wake up and get a new Ganger."

"It's weird, but you get used to it." Jimmy said, the others nodding slightly in agreement.

"Jennifer," Cleaves said, turning to the impish woman. "I want you back in you Ganger. Get back in the harness." Jennifer sighed but turned to go as the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver, scanning the Flesh. Everyone turned to the whirring noise.

"Hang on, what's he up to?" Buzzer asked. "What you up to, pal?" The Doctor ignored him and continued scanning, a strained look spread itself across his face.

"Ahhh, stop it!" he said, seemingly at the Flesh. He pulled his sonic back and placed it back in his jacket. He glared at the Flesh, which earned him an odd look from Rose, and about everyone else in the room. "Strange. It was like for a moment there, it was scanning me." He waved his hand over the bubbling liquid, transfixed. He looked at Rose, giving her a manic grin that painfully reminded her of his past self.

"Doctor." Cleaves warned slowly, watching the Doctor carefully. Suddenly, the Doctor's hand was pulled to the surface of the liquid, causing it to bubble and jump around. "Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone." Cleaves said loudly. Rose stood at the Doctor's side, unsure of what to do as he gasped in pain. Her hands hovered over his shoulders, not knowing whether to pull him back or to fall back to her sides. Fortunately, whatever had been holding the Doctor released him and he pulled his hand away.

"Ahh-I understand." He whispered, Rose's hands came down to support him as he stumbled slightly. He looked at her at the touch. "Thanks for the help by the way." He told her, a smile ghosting across his lips.

"How was I supposed to know what to do? I've never seen this stuff before in my life." She whispered back, smiling cheekily. Instead of receiving a clever retort, the Doctor looked at her with sadness in his eyes.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Amy asked before Rose could question it.

"Incredible." He whispered, his face snapping back to normal. He looked back down at the Flesh, now calmed, and remembered what it felt like when his hand touched the Flesh. "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it, and it reached out to me." He told her, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor." Cleaves said, patronizing tone back.

"How can you be so blinkered?" the Doctor asked, sounding annoyed and astonished. "It's alive. So alive. You're piling you lives, _your_ personalities directly into it." He pulled out a small snow globe right when lightning flashed and the monastery shook. "It's the solar storm. The first waves come in pairs. Pre-shock and fore-shock. It's close." He finished, walking away from the vat.

"Buzzer, we got anything from the mainland yet?" Cleaves asked.

"No, the comms are still too jammed with radiation."

"Okay. Then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop." She said, the Doctor turning around by the tub. "Now why don't you stand back and let us impress you?" she asked arrogantly. Rose walked up behind the Doctor, glaring at her. She was beginning to hate this woman, all arrogance and perfect timing. Not two seconds after she finished her sentence, the tub began to fill with the Flesh, drawing the Doctor's attention immediately. Not long after the tub stopped filling, it started getting string like objects floating in it. Rose guessed, by what they were supposed to be witnessing, that they were either nerves or pieces of hair. She and Amy gasped when a face, devoid of all color, began to form from the Flesh. Seconds later, the tank began to empty, leaving a Jennifer shaped person behind. Her skin was still a pasty white, the color came in fully when she suddenly sat up, grasping the sides of the tub, causing Amy and Rory to jump back.

"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church. Miracle of life." The Doctor joked, rubbing his hands together.

"No need to get pounce. It's just gunge." Buzzer told him.

"Guys, we need to get to work." Cleaves said as Jimmy helped Jen from the tub.

"Okay everybody, let's crack on." Jimmy sighed.

"Did I mention the solar storm? You _need_ to get out of here." The Doctor insisted.

"Where do you expect us to go? We're on a tiny island."

"Well, I can get you all off it."

"Don't be ridiculous, we've got a job to do." Cleaves said, annoyed.

"Why are you so thick?" Rose asked suddenly, taking everyone by surprise by the anger in her voice. "In the entire time I've been traveling with the Doctor, I've learned to listen to him. Whenever someone doesn't, people tend to die."

"Is that a threat?" Cleaves asked, walking up to stand toe to toe with Rose.

"Maybe not directly." Rose told her, not backing down. Cleaves glared at her, sizing her up. Finally, she smirked at her and snorted.

"My factory, my rules." Before Rose could chew the woman out, lightning flashed again.

"It's coming." The Doctor whispered, pulling out his snow globe again. Suddenly, the room was filled with a piercing sound.

"That's the alarm." Jennifer said.

"How do you get power?"

"We're solar. We use a solar router. The weathervane." Cleaves informed him.

" _Big_ problem."

"Boss, maybe if the storm's back we should get underground. The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit." Jimmy said, trying to get Cleaves to see reason. She sighed and looked up at him like he was an idiot.

"We have two hundred tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" she took the silence she received as a no.

"Please," the Doctor whispered, grabbing Cleaves' arm and forcibly dragging her away from the tub, and the controls she'd been poking at. "You are making a massive mistake here. You're right aat the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you _don't_ prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?" the Doctor asked, hoping she would.

"My factory, my rules." She repeated coldly, pulling her arm from the Doctor's grasp. She walked back to the tub and the Doctor turned to the rest of the crew.

"I need to check the progress of the storm. Monitoring station?" he asked Jen.

"Mmm." She mumbled.

" _Monitoring Station_." He repeated.

"Three lefts, a right, and a left. Third door on your left." She said quickly.

"Thank you." The Doctor told her, smiling as he ran from the room. The Ponds moved to follow him, Rose however didn't. She leaned back against a pillar, reveling in its cold temperature.

"You alright?" Jen asked her while the others busied themselves. "You weren't talking much earlier, though it seemed you wanted to."

"My head." Rose said simply, leaning it back slowly, drinking in the comfort. "It's killing me. Has been for a while."

"I think you need a doctor." Jen told her as she took in her pale complexion. Rose gasped at the similar words as the whole building shook.

"Oh, that bas-" she said, smirking.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Rose told her as a blush worked its way across her cheeks. _Yeah, you sang a song and the Daleks ran away. Jerk._ Rose thought to herself. Jen was about to press, intrigued by Rose's blush, when everything went white before fading into black. Rose could faintly feel her head smacking the stone floor, dreading how it would feel when she woke up.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> G-People are the doppelgangers. Just to avoid confusion.

Rose groaned as she woke up. She put her hand to her head as the ringing in her ears grew louder. She looked around the room, surprised to find it nearly empty. She looked over and saw Amy and Rory laying on the floor near the tub. She tried to stand to walk over to them, but as soon as she tried, her knees gave way. Sighing, she crawled over to where they were laying. She came up to Rory and shook him gently. His eyes opened slowly and Amy followed suit.

"For lack of a better word, ow." He groaned causing Rose to smile.

"I know." Rose agreed. "Come on. We have to go find the Doctor." She sighed as she tied standing again. Rory and Amy groaned as they slowly got to their feet. Rose was slightly envious that they were able to stand easily while she had to crawl. They heard groans coming from the harness room.

"We should go check on them." Amy sighed, gesturing to the doors.

"Yea." Rory agreed before they began walking to the harness room.

* * *

They reached the harness room a few minutes later, having needed to open every door they passed due to the dim conditions of the monastery. As they opened the door to the harness room, Rory groaned as it was just as dark as the rest of the monastery, which didn't help them one bit.

"I don't suppose anyone has a torch on them?" he asked.

"On the wall, to the right of the door." Buzzer told them weakly. Rory turned and pulled three, rather large, torches from a cabinet. When they got them turned on, they saw that Dicken and Jimmy were helping Buzzer out of his harness, needing to support him. "Oh, I feel like I've been toasted." He complained.

"What the hell happened?" Jimmy demanded.

"The tsunami happened. You hurt?" Amy asked.

"It feels like the National Grid's run through my bones but apart from that…" he replied sarcastically.

"The Doctor _did_ try to tell you." Rose whispered, earning her a look from the three men.

"Why…" Jennifer moaned from across the room. Rory's head snapped in her direction.

"Jennifer!" he cried before rushing to her side. Rose averted her gaze when she saw Amy's reaction.

"Come on." She told the men, leading them toward a counter. Amy quickly turned away and walked over to help Rose. "You alright?" she asked as she saw Rory and Jennifer talking in hushed tones.

"Yea, I'm just being silly."

"You know, it's okay to be upset, just a bit."

"I'm fine really." Amy assured her. Rose still didn't miss the way Amy grimaced when Rory pulled Jennifer in for a hug. Rose didn't have time to bring it up when the Doctor and Cleaves came running in. "Doctor, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?"

"Don't worry. When the link shuts down, the Gangers return to pure flesh." Cleaves assured her. "Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a shuttle out here in no time." She said quickly. As she finished talking, the record that was playing before started up from where it left off.

"Doctor…" Rose said worriedly as she went to stand next to him.

"That's my record. Who's playing my record?" Jimmy asked after a moment of silence.

"Your Gangers. They've gone walkabout." The Doctor said, his gaze flickering to Rose before settling on Cleaves.

"No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves, and Gangers don't…" she trailed off as the record changed to another singer.

"Where's the record player?" Rose asked quickly.

"Dining hall."

"I think we should go and complain about their music choices, don't you?" the Doctor asked. "Lead the way."

* * *

They ran into the dining hall a few moments later, only to find it deserted and a complete mess.

"No way." Buzzer said, rushing in first.

"I don't. I-I don't believe this." Cleaves gasped, hanging back by the door a moment longer than the rest of the group, as if she thought it would disappear if she walked in.

"They could've escaped through the service door at the back." Jimmy said as the Doctor went and sat by a card tower.

"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey." Buzzer said, walking around the room.

"It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers."

"They've ransacked everything." Cleaves said.

"Not ransacked, searched."

"Through our stuff!" Cleaves said angrily.

"Their stuff." The Doctor said coolly.

"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked, catching on to what the Doctor said earlier.

"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real."

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now." Buzzer said sarcastically.

"They feel compelled to connect to their lives." He continued, ignoring Buzzer.

"Their stolen lives." Cleaves corrected.

"Lives nonetheless." Rose said suddenly.

"Right." The Doctor said, nodding. "You bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing." He continued, flashing a smile at Rose. "Are you surprised they walked off with them?" he asked, looking around at the workers. Rose smirked, leave it to the Doctor to leave anyone speechless.

"I'll say it again." Buzzer said suddenly after a moment of silence, sounding as arrogant as always. "Isle of Sheppey. Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all handing…" he trailed off, miming his ear dangling from the side of his head.

"Even if this had actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them, can they, boss." Jimmy interrupted, saving everyone from a gruesome image. Everyone turned to look at Cleaves, who looked to be either deep in thought or in pain.

"I guess we'll find out." She said after a moment. Jennifer gasped and everyone turned to look at her while Rory rushed to her side.

"Are you okay? Do you need some water?" he asked her quickly.

"I feel funny. I need the washroom." She said quickly, running from the room. Rory looked at the rest of the group, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"I-I'll come with you." He said, rushing out after her. Amy stared after him, not having long to dwell on it when Dicken sneezed, causing her to jump. "Oh!"

"Sorry." He said, rubbing his nose.

"Okay."

"That's me." Buzzer said, pointing to the card tower the Doctor had leaned in to scrutinize. "It's a good hobby. So what, my Ganger did that all on its own?"

"Who taught you this?" the Doctor asked, ignoring his question.

"My granddad."

"Well, your Ganger's granddad taught him to do it too. You both have the same childhood memories, just as clear, just as real."

"No." he said, smashing the card tower and walked away.

"Scared, disoriented, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads."

"Doctor, what about me, my family, our friends? Will something like this happen to us?" Rose asked, worried.

"Nope." He told her, jumping up from his chair and walking over to the fridge. "Those were memories that you physically lived through, not random ones that were planted into your head. You won't experience any struggle to accept those memories. Ah!" he gasped happily as he found a prepackaged dinner in the fridge and he put it on a plate.

"We need to protect ourselves." Jimmy was saying to the others as the Doctor popped the meal into the microwave.

"Are you a violent man Jimmy?" the Doctor asked him, turning to face the others who had gathered around the table.

"No."

"Then why would the other Jimmy be?"

"Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor." Cleaves asked, walking towards the Doctor.

"You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour."

"Sorry, I just assumed…"

"Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disoriented." He said, earning a look from Rose. "Amy. When you got to the alcoves, who was in the harness?"

"Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out."

"Jennifer?"

"She was standing on her own when we got to her." Her sentence was punctuated by the microwave dinging. The Doctor spun around happily and removed it using a cloth. He walked over to Cleaves quickly, handing her the seemingly hot plate. The whole room was silent as Cleaves held the plate, looking at the Doctor as if he was a lunatic.

"It's hot." He said finally and Cleaves quickly dropped the plate. "Trans-matter's still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly." The Doctor said, grabbing her hand.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, pulling her hand away.

"It's okay."

"Why didn't I feel that?" she asked sadly.

"You will, you'll stabilize." He assured her.

"No, stop it. You're playing stupid games. Stop it!" she demanded, turning away from him.

"You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor." He said with a smile. She turned around and everyone gasped to see her face pale and veiny, as Jennifer's Ganger was before it finished forming. Buzzer quickly grabbed a knife from the table and tried to make a go for Cleaves' Ganger. Jimmy quickly grabbed him and held him back.

"Where's the real Cleaves, you thing?! What have you done with her?" he demanded through Jimmy.

"Leave her alone." Rose snapped.

"That's it. Good, you remember." The Doctor said to Cleaves' Ganger, ignoring the exchange behind him. "This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn." He said, his voice full of awe. He reached out to touch her cheek, stopping when she pulled away. She was watching the Doctor with what could only be described as "crazy eyes".

"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy asked.

"She can't stabilize. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least."

"We are living." G-Cleaves said in an unsteady voice before she ran from the room, screaming on the top of her lungs.

"Let her go." The Doctor said as Rose jumped out of her way. Rose looked around the room and gasped when she realized something from the Doctor's questions earlier.

"Oh my god…"

"What? What's the matter?" The Doctor asked her, worried. Amy did the same thing when she realized what Rose did.

"Doctor…Rory." She told him.

"Rory?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Rory!" she repeated, gesturing to the room, which lacked a Rory and a Jennifer.

"Oh, Rory." He said offhandedly. "Rory! Always with the Rory. Where did he run off to?"

"He went with Jennifer to the washroom." Rose told him.

"I'll take you." Jimmy said, leading out the door Rory and Jennifer had taken. Once they were outside, they saw their path was blocked by a small river of acid. "Explosion must've ruptured the acid feeds. We're going to need the acid suits."

"No, no, no. We haven't got the time. Back, back, back!" he shouted as the acid began trickling towards them. "There must be another way."

"Yea, come on." Jimmy said, leading them out another door.

* * *

"Rory." Amy gasped when she walked in the washroom, seeing the hole in one of the stall doors and the broken mirror.

"Of course, Jennifer's a Ganger too." The Doctor said, seeing the damage in the washroom as well.

"Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent."

"Yea, but I did say that they were scared and angry." The Doctor corrected, walking up to the mirror.

"And early technology, is what you said." Jimmy said. "You seem to know something about the Flesh."

"Do you? Doctor?" Amy asked. She walked up behind the Doctor, who turned to face her. He didn't answer her question, he looked back and forth between her and Rose.

"Doctor…?" Rose asked, seeing the distraught expression on his face.

"You're no weatherman. Why are you here?" Jimmy demanded, either not noticing or not caring about Rose beginning to talk.

"I have to talk to them. I can fix this." The Doctor said, running from the room. Rose rolled her eyes and chased after him.

"Wait! What's going on? Where's the real Jennifer?" Jimmy asked, following behind Amy. They ran up a spiral staircase before Rose was able to catch up with the Doctor.

"Where are you going?" she asked as they reached the top of the stairs. He didn't have a chance to answer before a pipe burst in front of them, causing their path to be blocked. He floor fizzled as the acid touched it.

"It is too dangerous out here with the acid leaks." The doctor exclaimed, turning around.

"We have to find Rory." Amy pressed.

"Yes. I'm going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together." He said, beginning to go down the hall. Rose followed close behind him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You didn't think I'd just let you leave me behind do you?"

"Rose, this – It'll be safer for you if you stick with Amy and Jimmy." He sighed.

"You said it yourself. You want us to keep together." She countered innocently. The Doctor sighed, but nodded and he started off down the hallway again.

"Doctor! What about Rory?" Amy asked, halting his progression once more.

"Well, it would be safer to look for Rory and Jennifer with the TARDIS." The Doctor and Rose barely went down the next hallway before the Doctor was, well, lost. "Eenie meanie miney mo. Catch a Time Lord by the toe…" he mumbled to himself, looking between two doors or the passage straight ahead, before turning to Rose. "Give us a mo." He said with a smile before rushing back down the hallway. Rose heard Jimmy let out a soft yelp before the Doctor was back, a mischievous smile on his face. "Whatcha waiting for?" he said cheekily before leading Rose down the hallway.

* * *

They traveled down the hallway for a ways, dodging acid puddles and what not, when the Doctor suddenly ducked into a doorway.

"Doctor?" Rose whispered before following him. The room she found herself in was the Flesh room and the Doctor was standing over the Flesh, scanning it. "Doctor, what-"

"Come on." The Doctor said, after checking his sonic. Rose stood there for a second before turning to follow him.

_Trust meee._

"What?" she asked turning around.

"Rose, what are you doing, we have to get to the TARDIS."

"Yea, sorry. Just thought I heard something." She said. Shaking her head, she turned and followed the Doctor, missing the pair of lips that formed on the surface of the Flesh.

* * *

"Oh." The Doctor sighed as they reached the surface.

"Oh my god." Rose gasped as the saw the TARDIS, nearly completely sunken into the earth.

"What are you doing down there?" he asked. Rose opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she heard a hissing noise that wasn't coming from the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" she shouted, already undoing the laces on her shoes.

"Hm?" he asked, looking at her, then down at their feet. "Oh!" he exclaimed, rushing to undo his laces as well. They were both soon rid of their shoes and running up the monastery stairs. They stood in the archway, panting and looking at their shoes that were melting in the acid. Rose looked over at the Doctor when she heard him giggle.

"What?" she asked, following his gaze to her feet.

"Why aren't your socks matching?"

"Why would they need to? Normally, no one ever sees them. I mean, it's not every day that my trainers get melted by acid." She argued, giggling as well. The Doctor shrugged in agreement then grabbed her hand and pulled her down a corridor.

* * *

"Oh, my." The Doctor sighed as they reached a pool of acid. "Come now, this way." He said, pulling Rose into a doorway. "Ah, an acid room. Lovely." They walked down the stairs looking for another exit when the Doctor stopped abruptly, causing Rose to run into his back. Rubbing her nose, she looked around him.

"Doctor…" Rose whispered as the Doctor pulled her behind him. They were standing in front of the Gangers of Cleaves, Jimmy, Buzzer, and Dicken. They weren't even trying to hold their full-formed appearance.

"Hello, hello. How are you all getting on?" the Doctor asked, plastering a smile on his face.

"Why don't you tell us?" G-Cleaves asked quietly.

"Well, we have two choices. The first is to tear each other apart. Not my favorite." He said, shrugging. "The second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you. Now, what do you say, hm?" he asked. Cleaves' Ganger turned to look at the others before giving the Doctor a shallow nod. "Excellent. I expect you know the way around the acid pools yes?"

* * *

As they walked towards the dining hall, Rose could hear the others talking from inside.

"Okay, let's not do anything." She heard Amy say.

"Until the Doctor gets here." The Doctor said at the same time as Amy.

"Hello." He said to the group as the Gangers filed in behind him. The humans stared at their Ganger counter parts, as well as the other way around.

"This is…" Jimmy began, unable to finish his sentence.

"You're telling me." G-Jimmy told him, smirking slightly.

"All right, Doctor. You've brought us together. Now what?" G-Cleaves said, sounding irritated.

"Before we do anything, I have one very important question. Has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size ten. Although I should warn you, I have very wide feet."

"I'll need some as well." Rose said. "Size seven though. I also don't have wide feet." She finished sheepishly.


	18. Chapter 18

"So." The Doctor said, ensuring that everyone's attention was on him, after he had pulled on his newly acquired boots. "The Flesh was never merely moss. These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people." He said, looking around the group. The Gangers were on one side with their human counterparts on the other.

"With souls?" Jimmy asked.

"Rubbish." Dicken said before he sneezed.

"Bless you." G-Dicken said, a smug smile on face.

"We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop." He said, causing some of the members of the group to grimace.

"Thanks for the visual." Rose said, voicing the thoughts of the group.

"Yeah, too much information." Amy agreed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and continued with his explanation. "We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about _sacred_ life." He said, gesturing to the Gangers. "Do you understand?" he asked. He smiled, taking the silence or shallow nods from the group as a yes. "Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers. How does that sound?"

"Can I make it home for Adam's birthday?" Jimmy asked, hopeful.

"What about me? He's my son too." G-Jimmy argued before the Doctor could reply.

"You?" he replied, disbelieving. "You really think that?"

"I feel it."

"Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?" Jimmy asked sarcastically. Rose, like the Doctor, leaned back to let the argument play out.

"Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea, then they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing." G-Jimmy smiled at a memory he and Jimmy shared. "No idea why. I miss home, as much as you." He finished, sobering.

"Look." The Doctor said suddenly, obviously seeing something beginning that Rose couldn't. "I'm not going to lie to you. It's a right old _mess_ , this. But as you might say up North, oh well, I'll just go to't foot of stairs. Eee by by gum." He looked at Rose, smiling. She was trying not to laugh at him as she gave him a slight shake of the head and his smile immediately fell. "Or not. Good. Right." He said awkwardly. "First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then, get everyone out of here."

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves." Amy said.

"I'll go look for them." Jimmy said quickly, heading for the door.

"I'll give you a hand." G-Jimmy offered. "If you like. Cover more ground."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks." Jimmy agreed, causing Rose to smile. She had the feeling that this might actually work. As soon as she thought that, she felt like she should knock on wood or something.

"This circus has gone on _long_ enough." Cleaves shouted, running behind them, brandishing a weapon of some kind. Rose put down a mental note to carry a piece of wood with her from now on.

"Oh great. You see, this is so typically me." G-Cleaves sighed.

"Doctor tell it to shut up!" she threatened.

"Cleaves, no. No, no." the Doctor said disbelieving, walking towards her.

"Circuit probe. Fires about, oh, forty thousand volts? Would kill any one of us, so I guess she'll work on Gangers just the same." Cleaves said, her voice dripping with arrogance. Rose glared at her, hate for this woman was easy to come by.

"It's interesting you refer to them as it," the Doctor gestured to the Gangers, "but you call a glorified cattle prod a she."

"When the real people are safely off this island, then I'll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor."

"What are you going to do to them?" Amy asked. Rose sighed and, seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, looked slightly to her right. She bit back her gasp when she saw the same woman from before making her way behind Cleaves. Rose tried not to bring attention to herself, she knew that the woman wasn't there due to the lack of reaction from everyone else. Still, her reaction didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you alright?" Rory whispered, touching her shoulder. She jumped at the contact but turned and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him before she was being pulled out of the way of G-Buzzer in his attempt to get the probe away from Cleaves. Rose screamed as Cleaves electrocuted him. He fell, dead, right in front of her.

"He's dead! You killed him!" Rose shouted.

"We call it decommissioned." Cleaves said, obviously finding no fault in her actions. Rose looked like she was going to try and punch the woman, so the Doctor put himself between Rose and Cleaves.

"You stopped his heart. He had a heart. Aorta, valves, a real human heart. And you stopped it." The Doctor said angrily, hoping to give Cleaves at least a little bit of guilt.

"What happened to Buzzer will happen to all of us if we trust you." G-Jennifer whispered, backing away from her place behind Rory.

"Wait, wait, just wait." The Doctor pleaded to the retreating Gangers.

"No!" Rory yelled as Cleaves raised the probe to strike once more. Before she could fire, Rory launched himself over the table separating them and landed on her, pulling out the power cell in the process.

"You idiot!" Cleaves shouted, shoving him off of her.

"Wait!" the Doctor shouted as the Gangers ran away. "Look at what you have done, Cleaves." The Doctor said as she stood up.

"If it's a war, then it's a war. You don't get it, Doctor. How can you?" She asked ignorantly. Rose saw the Doctor's face grow dark and she grabbed one of his hands on both of his as she shot Cleaves another glare. "It's us and them now. Us and them."

"Us and them." Dicken agreed immediately. Everyone looked at Jimmy. Rose was hopeful that he would not give in, her heart fell when he sighed.

"Us and them." He finally agreed. The Doctor sighed as well, walking away from the group, pulling Rose along with him. Behind them, Rose heard the workers trying to find weapons from anything they could find while Amy and Rory went about fixing G-Buzzer's body. Rose looked at the Doctor, who was radiating tension. While his left hand was still intertwined with hers, his right hand was pinching the bridge of his nose. She went to comfort him, but his head snapped up, stopping her movement.

"The best fortified and defendable room in the monastery." He said. "Cleaves, the most fortified and defendable room in the monastery." He repeated, louder.

"The chapel."

"Thank you."

"Only one way in. Stone walls two feet thick."

"You've crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves." The Doctor said, ignoring her obvious bragging about _her factory_. "You've killed one of them. They're coming back, in a big way."

"I guess we should get going then." Buzzer suggested.

Cleaves, Buzzer, Jimmy, the Doctor, Rose, Amy, and Rory were beginning to file inside the chapel. The Doctor was about to walk in when they heard a scream echo through the halls. The Doctor quickly pulled Rose inside before waiting for Amy, who in turn was waiting for Rory.

"Rory, come on." She begged.

"Jen's out there. She's out there and she's on her own." He replied, torn on which direction he should go.

"Well, if she's got any sense, then she's hiding." The Doctor said, reaching for Amy. "Rory!" he cried as Rory inched away from them.

"I can't just leave her out there!"

"Rory."

"I know you understand that."

"Get in here. Get in here!" Amy begged as the Gangers rounded a corner, spotting them.

"There they are." G-Cleaves said, and the Gangers began marching towards the chapel. Rory ducked down a corridor, running from the chapel.

"Amy." The Doctor said, pulling her inside.

"Rory!" she yelled as Jimmy and Buzzer slammed the door shut and began throwing things against it.

"Amy, they're not after him, they're after us." The Doctor said, trying to reassure her.

"Why? Why?" a ghostly voice said from the darkness before she had the chance to reply. Both the Doctor and Rose spun to face the sound.

"Show yourself." The Doctor said to the shadows. "Show yourself!"

"Doctor! Rose!" Amy cried, annoyed that they weren't helping.

"Pass me the barrel." Cleaves said to Jimmy.

"We need something heavy. Anything you can find." Dicken grunted.

"This is insane. We're fighting ourselves." Jimmy said.

"Yes. Yes, it's insane, and it's about to get even more insanerer." The Doctor paused with a puzzled look on his face. "Is that a word?" he asked Rose, causing her to smile. "Show yourself, right now!" he yelled into the darkness.

"Doctor, we are trapped in here and Rory's out there with them." Amy said, walking up behind them. "Hello? We can't get to the TARDIS and we can't even leave the island."

"Correct in every respect, Pond. It's frightening, unexpected, frankly a total, utter splattering mess on the carpet." A voice said as a humanoid shape came out of the darkness. Rose and the Doctor stiffened, both feeling a sense of déjà vu. "But, I am certain, one hundred percent certain, that we can work this out. Trust me. I'm the Doctor." A Doctor Ganger came sauntering out of the shadows, a smirk on his half-formed face.

"Not again." Rose sighed, looking up at the Doctor. "You are _not_ gonna leave him with my mother." She told him jokingly. The Doctor looked down at her, smirking.

"Doctor?" Amy cried as the Gangers began pounding on the door.

"Right. Coming. You, watch over him." The Doctor told Rose. She nodded and he kissed her forehead before running off.

"So, hello I guess." Rose said, walking over to the G-Doctor.

"Yes, hello." He replied with a small smile. "Hold on, I have to make myself presentable. Give us a tic." He held up a finger before he spun in a small circle. When he fully faced her again, he was full formed. "So what do you think?" he asked.

Rose laughed and gave him a little round of applause. "Very clever." She complimented as he gave a little bow. His face crippled in pain suddenly and he grabbed the sides of his head. "Doctor!" Rose called before the G-Doctor began screaming.

"What's happening?" the Doctor asked Rose as he ran over. She shrugged as the G-Doctor began ranting.

"I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day." He yelled as pain shot through him, causing him to bend back. "I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow." He panted.

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on." The Doctor told the G-Doctor.

"Would you like a jelly baby?" G-Doctor asked, sounding like the Doctor's fourth body, holding out his hand to Rose. With that same hand, he grabbed Rose's hand and spun her into his arms. "Rose, I remembered, I can dance!" he said happily, sounding like the Doctor's ninth self. He spun with her in his arms a couple of times before he released her just as another shooting pain passed through him. "Why? Why? Why?!" the G-Doctor demanded, glaring at the Doctor in pain.

"Why, why what?" the Doctor asked, stepping closer.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor." The G-Doctor said quickly, standing straight, looking very much like his real counterpart. "No, let it go, we've moved on." He begged, sounding very tragic, grabbing at the Doctor's arms.

"Hold on, hold on, you can stabilize." The Doctor said, trying to assure his Ganger.

"I've reversed the jelly baby of the neutron flow. Would you like a Doctor, Doctor, I'm, I'm. Gone." He whispered, hanging his head.

"No, listen, hold on. Hold on."

"No!" the G-Doctor screamed, his face half formed once again as he shoved the Doctor back. His hands found the sides of his head once more as the Gangers began banging on the door with more vigor than before. They began piling more things against the door when suddenly, with one final hard shove against the door, the noise stopped.

"I think I liked it better when they were being noisy." Buzzer said.

"Mm-hmm." Amy agreed before she ran over to where the two Doctors and Rose were. "Doctor! We need you. Get over here."

"Hello!" the G-Doctor said, his face fully formed again.

"Doctor." Amy said, looking at the Doctor. He turned to look at her, but he didn't follow her.

"Cybermats." He said. Before Amy could question him the G-Doctor answered.

"Do we have time for this?"

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats." The Doctor repeated turning to face him.

"Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves." He said and the Doctor nodded.

"Anyone could know that." Rose argued, walking up to the G-Doctor.

"Did you?" the Doctor countered.

"Fine, anyone whose _met_ them or seen one."

"I'm assuming that you have questions of your own?" the G-Doctor asked. Rose nodded. "Ask away." He told her.

"On the worst day of my life, what did you say to me?"

"I said, Rose Tyler."

"The first thing you ever said to me?"

"Run." He told her, smiling at the memory.

"What was the name of the shop we first met in?" she asked him. She knew it was a long shot but she knew how the Doctor would respond.

"How am I supposed to remember the name of the shop I was in for a few minutes?" he asked, flabbergasted. "I am certain that I did blow it up." He said happily. Rose smiled, knowing that's how he would've answered.

"Good enough for me." She said, looking at both of the Doctors. "I guess history really does repeat itself." She joked.

The Doctor let out a short laugh. "Come on, let's go see what trouble they've gotten themselves into, shall we?" he asked, leading Rose over to where the others were trying to hold the door. The three of them stood away from it, just watching. Rose stood there, holding the Doctor's hand while the two Doctors began their own conversation.

"Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us." The Doctor whispered, as if he and the G-Doctor were the only people in the room.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Inevitably."

"I'm glad we're on the same."

"Wavelength." The Doctor finished. Rose smiled, they were like a married couple or something. "You see, great minds." He said to Rose, who nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" G-Doctor asked.

"Save them all, humans and Gangers."

"Tall order. Sounds wonderful."

"Is that what you were thinking?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes, it's just so inspiring to hear me say it."

"I know." The Doctor said with a small laugh, making Rose snort.

"Doctor, come on." Amy said, sounding very annoyed.

"So, what now Doctor?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, time to get cracking Doctor." The G-Doctor said and they both started walking at the same time, Rose being pulled behind them.

**Half an hour later…**

The Doctor and Cleaves ran for the thermostatic controls, leaving Rose, Amy, Jimmy, and Dicken to watch for Gangers. "It's a chemical chain reaction now." The Doctor said, looking at the screen read outs. "I can't stop it. This place is going to blow sky high." He whispered.

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves asked.

"An hour? Five seconds? Somewhere in between." He said right when an alarm began to blare. He turned slowly, locking eyes with Rose. "Out!" he shouted before dashing to her side and pulling her out of the room. They just entered the hallway when Rose heard Rory.

"Thank God. Are you alright?" Rory asked, running towards Amy.

"Rory." Amy gasped as she pulled him in for a tight hug.

"There's a way out." Rory told the group after he pulled away from the hug. "Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt."

"Under the crypt? It's not on the schematics." Cleaves argued.

"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me." He said before he turned and raced down the hallway.

The path Rory led them deposited them into an acid room. Everyone, except Rory, filed inside quickly.

"We can't leave without Buzzer." Jimmy pressed.

"I'll go back for him." Cleaves said, heading for the stairs.

"Doctor, look. I'd better tell you. I haven't been quite straight with you." Rory began as G-Jennifer came, shutting and locking the door. The Doctor turned and ran for the door, pounding on the glass.

"Rory!" he cried.

"Hang on, Jen. We don't need to lock them up. We should just show them what we've found." Rory told her.

"I don't think so." She said.

"Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!" the Doctor shouted, pounding on the glass.

"Rory, what the _hell_ are you playing at?" Amy demanded.

"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot. Alive. I think the world should see that." He said through the glass.

"Rory, there is no time. The factory's about to explode." The Doctor told him. Rose peered around the Doctor to see Rory turn away from the door and talk with Jennifer. The Doctor quickly grew frustrated and turned away from the door, choosing to scan the acid. Amy quickly took his place and she and Rose watched as betrayal flashed across Rory's face before G-Jennifer grabbed his arm.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled at them before he was dragged away.

"Rory!" Amy shouted, banging on the glass. She turned away from the glass and Rose followed her to the acid vat. The Doctor was still walking in circles around it, scanning.

"This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest." He said.

"And we can't stop it?" Cleaves guessed.

"Just as a point of interest, no." he said, glancing at Rose.

"We could try lowering the lid, it could buy us some time." Dicken offered.

"Good lad!" the Doctor said happily, clapping him on the shoulder. Dicken jumped up and grabbed the controls and the lid began slowly lowering down on the vat.

"It'll never hold her." Jimmy said quietly.

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears." The Doctor offered.

"Would that happen to be the planet where the dogs also have no noses?" Rose asked from across the vat, earning an odd look from Jimmy.

"Perfect guess Miss Tyler!"

"We never did make it there." Rose told him.

"Survive this and you've got yourself a deal." He said happily. A hissing noise filled the room and everyone fell silent, well almost everyone. "Get back!" the Doctor yelled and everyone, save Cleaves, pressed themselves to the walls of the room.

"The acid's eating through." She said sadly before taking her spot against the wall. Everyone watched in horror as the lid began to jump on the vat as the acid fought its way through. Jimmy jumped off of the wall and used his body weight to try and hold it down. He was losing the battle and Rose quickly moved to join him.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled and made his way over to her. That wasn't an easy task for the ground was rumbling with the oncoming explosion. Before the Doctor could reach Rose to pull her off, a bubble of acid erupts from the vat before the lid tightens its seal. "Rose!" the Doctor yelled again, doubling his pace to reach her. As he did, he didn't hear any more of what the others were yelling at him. He carefully lifted her from the ground and cradled her in his arms. He scanned her injuries and his hearts sank when he saw that the acid hit her square in the chest.

"Don't worry Doctor, you know me, I come back from everything." She told him, a smirk on her face.

"Not this time." He said sadly and he felt her stiffen at his words.

"W-what do you mean?" she whispered, eyes wide.

"No matter how tough the Flesh is, there is always something that will make it break down."

"Doctor, what…"

"Shh. It's alright." He told her, kissing her hair. "No matter where you are, when you are, I _will_ find you." He said with determination in his eyes.

"Doctor I'm right here." She said, reaching up to caress his cheek.

"No, _you_ aren't. you haven't been for quite some time." He watched as the words sunk in.

"So, I-I'm a Ganger?" she asked. The Doctor smiled softly.

"I'm afraid so, clever girl." He said sadly, his eyes also flashing towards Amy. Rose followed his gaze and gasped.

"Oh my god." She said, sounding weaker.

"Rose, it's not long now." The Doctor said, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"Doctor, if they do anything to Amy, worse than they already have, do something for me." She said watching him. She waited until she had his gaze before continuing. "Give 'em hell." She said, causing him to laugh weakly.

"Always thinking of others." He said.

"That's-" she began, but the acid had already done far too much damage and her Ganger disintegrated in his arms.

Rose awoke with a gasp in a blindingly white room. She sucked in air through her teeth when she felt a sharp pain in her head. She brought her hand up to it and gasped when it came back red. She didn't have time to act on this discovery before a door opened and the woman she had seen walked in. the woman walked to a grid on the side of the wall and pressed a button.

"She's awake, I'm sure he knows now. Keep an eye on Pond, it shouldn't be long now." The woman said before throwing Rose a sharp glare and walking out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done.


	19. Chapter 19

Rose was sitting in the corner of the room that she woke up in, as far away from the door as she could be. She had already torn of the dingy bandages that they had given her and replaced it with a sleeve of the shirt they had put her in. She stared at the door for god knows how long, waiting, expecting for someone to barge in and take her somewhere else. Sometime during her wait, she heard screaming echo through the halls. From what the woman had said earlier when she had come in, Rose feared the worst. Not long after it had started, the screaming stopped, leaving Rose back in the insufferable silence she was in before. Suddenly, Rose heard a slight clicking noise and looked up to see that some parts of the walls had moved. Before she had time to dwell on this fact, here was a small hissing noise accompanied by a nearly invisible gas. Not soon after the gas had begun to fill the room, Rose grew incredibly drowsy. She pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose, trying hopelessly to get clean air in her lungs. She was losing the battle, and she soon found herself leaning heavily on the wall of the room as she fell asleep. As she did, she vaguely registered several people coming in and pulling her from the room.

* * *

When Rose woke up for the second time, the room she now found herself in was drastically different than the one she woke up in before. The walls were darker than before, though she wasn't sure if it was because of their coloring or the poor lighting of the room. She could easily see a door to her right and on the opposite side, in the corner, there was a simple mattress sitting on the floor. It had one pillow and a thin blanket thrown on it. In the opposite corner to that, there was a simple bathroom. She was grateful when she saw that the bathroom was surrounded by a wall that would cover her from the neck down. While she was inspecting where she guessed she would be living, a loud clatter startled her from her thoughts. She jumped and turned to see a metal tray behind her, resting in front of the wooden door.

The pain in her head flared when she turned and her hand jumped up to touch the wound, thankful that it wasn't bleeding anymore. She slowly walked over to the tray to discover that it had, what she hoped was, food on it. Its consistency, and the coloring, reminded her of the food on Krop Tor. The food was separated poorly so the colors of the food; dull orange, brown, dark blue, and red, mixed into a sickly color that did _not_ look appetizing. Rose looked at the food in disgust but was betrayed by her stomach when it rumbled. Swallowing, she reluctantly picked up the tray and walked over to her bed. She glared at the spoon that was floating in the mush before picking it up.

* * *

Sometime during Rose's confinement, she discovered that her meals only came once a day. Well, she guessed, given the span between her meals. That same day, Rose used this idea of the meals coming once a day to keep track of how many days she had been there. Every day, after she had finished eating, Rose used the back of the spoon to scratch a tally mark on the back of the door. She didn't need to, however, for the trays and spoons didn't disappear as they appeared. She still scraped away, day after day, to keep some semblance of sanity. It had only taken her a few days to get a routine in her prison. Wake up, shower, eat, add a tally, clean the tray and spoon, and wait for something to kill her. Even with this small routine she had that allowed her to keep a part of her mind, the ones keeping her had other plans.

The most stressful part of it was that she had no clue when they would kill her. Granted, they usually kept it after her meal, unless they were bored or something. They're favorite way seemed to be using her shower. Many times after Rose got into the shower and turned on the water, they would send an electric current through the water. They were meticulous about the charge they sent. It was always low enough that she wouldn't die right away, but high enough that it eventually would. On other days it might be poison in her food, or maybe someone would hold a pillow down on her face as she woke up. Once, they simply sucked all of the oxygen out of the room and left it like that for a few days. Rose once wondered herself if they were trying to kill her with the horrendous food they kept serving her.

* * *

Rose woke up one "morning" and sat up, groaning as she did. Her eyes wandered lazily over to the trays sitting in the corner by the door. They were stacked to various heights with a pile of spoons next to them. Rose sighed when she counted, for the first time, how many there were. She continued her daily mantra of _The Doctor is coming for us; he will take us from here._ when she counted 54 trays. She stood slowly, her joints popping as she did. She was glad that she didn't have a mirror in this room; she didn't want to guess how much weight she had lost with the small amount of food she received. She walked over to the pile of spoons and picked one up before walking to the shower.

She moved her hand along the wall, carefully avoiding where she knew the stream of water would go, and pressed the button that started the shower. She retreated quickly from the growing puddle of water. Rose waiting until she was a safe distance away from the water before she threw the spoon into the puddle, satisfied when it didn't react at all. She grabbed the spoon and threw it back to the pile before she peeled off her clothes, setting them on the top of the wall, and stepped into the stream of water.

Rose threaded her fingers through her short hair, fingering the scar that lay beneath. It had taken Rose a few days before she realized that they had shaved her hair when they had done god knows what to her head. She sighed at the memory as she scrubbed her hair, working the water to every strand. Whatever they had added to the water had always left Rose perfectly clean, one thing that wasn't angry about.

"Alrighty then." Rose said to herself as she finished with her hair and grabbed her clothes from the wall. She had begun to do that a few weeks back. It had initially worried her, but now, with no one to talk to, it seemed to be another way she kept from going crazy. She pulled her clothes under the stream of water, letting her other clothes fall as she worked on the shirt. Whatever kept her clean, worked wonders on her clothes as well. She kneaded the shirt in her hands for a minute or two before taking out from under the stream, wringing it out before she placed it back on the wall to dry, repeating the process with the rest of her outfit.

Once she thought that they were finished, she paced the rest of her clothes on the wall and, turning off the water, she ran to the bed and wrapped herself in the blanket. She dried herself quickly and walked back to the wall. Another one of the privileges they had granted her was another set of clothes. So every day, she washed the ones she had worn, hanging them on the wall to dry, and putting on the ones she had washed the previous day. After she had dressed, she spread the blanket out on the wall so that could dry as well. She turned around and was unsurprised to see a tray waiting for her.

Rose walked over to it and picked it up and walked over to her bed. She glared at the colors she had seen for the last 54 days.

"Well, at least if they're feeling crazy, they change the spot where they put the…gunk." Rose said sarcastically, laughing at her own joke quietly. She had learned which ones tasted somewhat better than the others and she usually ate the horrid ones first before moving on to better ones. She finished the tray quickly, having also learned that that was better than drawing it out, and walked over to the sink to wash her dishes. Rose coughed a little as she turned on the water and began washing the spoon. She didn't think anything of it until she coughed harder as she threw the spoon into the pile. She tried to wash the tray quickly, knowing what would happen to the rest of her "meal" if it was left out. It wasn't a pretty sight.

She managed to clean it before she began coughing violently, dropping the tray with a clatter into the sink. She was unable to turn off the sink as she struggled to breathe and it poured loudly onto the tray. Her throat had fully closed as she collapsed onto the floor, waiting for death to take her. She had wondered weeks back if they were seeing how far they could push her until she finally never came back.

 _I just wish they could be a little more original._ Rose thought weakly as she felt herself sleeping away. She was glad when she died at last, knowing that she would be back in the nightmare all too soon.

This was Rose Tyler's life now. At least until the Doctor came for her, and she knew he would. He had to.


	20. Chapter 20

Rose stayed curled up on her bed, unsure if she wasn't strong enough or if she simply didn't want to. She pulled the blanket down far enough so she could check the number of trays she had collected. A couple of months before then, Rose had decided to stack them in piles of ten. Her bout of organization turned out to be not as helpful as she hoped. She held back the sob that ran through her body as she quickly counted twelve stacks and another that was beginning.

Rose buried her face back under her blanket, her finger's threading into her hair as she curled into a ball. As she laid there, she became somewhat dead to the rest of the world as she cut herself off. After a period of time, she began to register in the back of her mind that she hadn't heard the usual clank of the tray when it suddenly appeared. She wrote it off that she just didn't notice it for she was so used to the noise. She thought that until the lights suddenly flickered in the room. She sat up slowly, avoiding the cracked mirror over the sink. It had appeared out of the blue and Rose figured that it was another form of torture, seeing herself in that state. When she had looked into it two weeks ago, she screamed in rage and threw a spoon at her reflection.

She looked at the spot below the mirror and took a deep breath. She stood unsteadily and slowly walked over to the mirror. Rose clutched the sides of the sink before she looked into the mirror. She gasped as she instantly took a few steps back. She had deep purple rings beneath her eyes that sat upon her cheekbones, which were more pronounced due to the loss of her chubby cheeks. Her once bright hazel eyes had now become dull and hopeless. Her hair was now back to its original brown color, and it was long enough that it began to curl slightly at the tips. Rose looked at her reflection once more and scoffed.

"Could the cracks be any better placed?" she mused. The cracks that had formed when she threw the spoon at the mirror made it look as though it was Rose herself that was beginning to splinter. She looked at the door again, still surprised to see no tray in the space in front of it. She started to walk back to the bed when the whole room lurched, sending her to the floor. Rose winced as her arms hit the unforgiving floor. She quickly crawled onto the bed before she could be thrown to the floor again. She could already feel bruises forming on her elbows. Rose pulled her legs to her chest as she sat on the bed. The shaking soon stopped and she relaxed slightly.

Rose scrambled into the corner of the bed when the door to the room suddenly burst open. Two soldiers stood in the doorway with guns in their hands.

"You. Up." The one in front commanded, pointing at her. "Now!" he shouted when she didn't move. Rose jumped up as quickly as she could and followed the one that had yelled at her through the halls, his clone followed her, stone faced. Rose looked in amazement at the hallways that surrounded the room that looked to low tech. They passed by a window and Rose stared out into space, surprised to see two WW 2 fighter planes flying away.

"Let's go!" the soldier behind her said, jabbing her back with the barrel of his gun. She glared at him but began walking again. They walked through an endless amount of corridors, the soldier in front peering around corners before they pressed on. They turned one corner and at the end of this corridor, Rose saw the silhouette of a woman waiting for them, a capsule sitting on the floor next to her. Cold dread settled in Rose's stomach as she recognized the woman, even after a glance six months ago. The woman smirked and Rose knew that her face said it all.

"Catch up with the other two. I believe I can overpower her if need be." She said in a voice that set Rose's nerves even more on edge.

"Yes, Madame Kovarian." The soldiers said and rushed off the way they came. Kovarian turned to Rose and stared her down as a voice above them announced that a shuttle was ready for boarding. Kovarian turned and picked up the capsule, about to head towards a wall that looked like the entrance to a lift. Rose felt a hand grasp hers and she was pulled behind someone dressed in Roman armor.

"No." the man said in an achingly familiar voice. Rose grasped the hand, the hand of Rory Williams, tighter, relieved when he squeezed back reassuringly. Rory leveled a sword at Kovarian's neck and she slowly placed the capsule down at his feet.

"I have a crew of twenty. How do you expect to gain control of my ship?" she asked him arrogantly. Right on cue, the airlock opened and two figures stepped out. The taller one pointed a pistol at Kovarian. Rose was relieved to recognize him.

"This ship is out, milady." Captain Avery told her, cocking his pistol purposefully. Kovarian gulped as she was backed against a wall. Rory immediately sheathed his sword and stooped down to the capsule.

"Rory, what's in there?" Rose asked, her heart fluttering when he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the capsule.

"This," Rory began as the capsule opened and he reached inside, "is my daughter." Rose gasped when he pulled out a baby. Rose guessed that she was maybe about three or four months old. The baby looked at Rory with a puzzled expression and Rose thought that she was going to start crying. Rory cradled his daughter and smiled down at her. The baby immediately reciprocated with a toothless grin and a small giggle. Rory joined in and Rose felt her heart begin to warm at the sight. She looked away, feeling awkward in this family moment, gasping when she noticed the appearance of two lizard people with masks on. Rory turned at the sound and allowed them to pass.

"They know where to take her?" Avery asked, backing away from Kovarian when the lizard people pointed their own weapons at her.

"Yeah, they know where he is." Rory said, watching Rose's face. Rose's eyes shot to his before darting to her hands, which were playing with the hem of her shirt. "Those are Silurians." Rory explained as Kovarian was ushered off. "You could go with them, if you want…" he offered.

"No." Rose said in a quiet voice. "I wouldn't want to get in the way. I'm not exactly the most helpful person right now." She risked a glance at Rory, only to find him examining her face. She looked away and saw that Avery and the boy he was with had disappeared.

"Alright." Rory said, accepting her weak excuse. "Then you can come with me to get Amy." He said with a smile. Rose nodded and Rory lead the way down a corridor, holding his daughter close to his chest. They walked in silence and they quickly reached what seemed to be the main room. How they managed that without getting lost astounded Rose. They looked up and saw a white room overlooking the main room, a large window dominating one whole wall.

"Ten quid she's up there?" Rose challenged, her voice still soft. Rory grinned and led the way towards a set of stairs that seemed to lead up to the room. They climbed the stairs slowly, Rory didn't want to jostle the baby too much, but Rose could see that Rory wanted to sprint up the stairs to his wife. Rory reached the top first and kicked the door with his foot. They heard some shuffling from inside before a voice called out.

"Who's that? Who's there?" Amy called out. "You watch it, because I'm armed and really dangerous…and cross." She said, trying to sound threatening, which only made her husband smile.

"Yeah, like I don't know that." He said sarcastically through the door.

"Rory?" she asked after a beat. "Rory, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. I have a couple of visitors with me. Look, hang on a minute." He told her, struggling with the sonic and balancing his daughter.

"Here." Rose said, taking the sonic.

"They took her. Rory, they took our baby." Amy said sadly as the door opened. She was standing in the center of the room, holding a toothbrush in her hand. Amy's eyes widened slightly as she took in Rose's appearance before they focused on her husband and their child.

"Now, Mrs. Williams, that is never, ever going to happen." Rory told her, walking towards her quickly, grinning. Rose followed slowly as the couple met in the middle and Amy took in the sight of her daughter once more.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Where's she been? What have they done to her?" Amy fretted, examining her daughter's hands.

"She's fine. Amy, she's fine. I checked. She's beautiful." Rory assured her, his voice growing thick. "Oh God, I was going to be cool. I wanted to be cool. Look at me." He whined, blinking away tears.

"You're okay. Crying Roman with a baby. Definetly cool." Amy said with a small laugh. "Come here, you." She told him before pulling him in for a kiss. When they pulled away Amy turned her gaze on Rose, who was averting her gaze until now. "Oh Rose. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your…"

"You're hair! You're going to have to get it redone!" Amy interrupted, throwing her off completely. Rose stared at her, unsure of how to answer. Rose noticed both Amy and Rory were now staring over her shoulder. Rose froze, not unsure whether she was dreaming or not. She turned slowly to find the Doctor staring at her, his eyes as big as plates. She saw his gaze sweep over her and the guilt that clouded his eyes.

"Doctor?" she asked and his eyes met hers, which were becoming very hard to see out of. "I'm certain that I'm dreaming now." She had to choke out her last words as she hung her head, not wanting him to see her tears. Not one second later did she feel his warm, yet cool embrace surrounding her.

"Hush." He whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Of course I'm real. What else am I supposed to be?" he asked, his cheek on the top of her head as he stroked her hair.

"A dream, hologram, Ganger, biological metacrisis…" she listed into his tweed.

"Someone's sense of humor has gone out the window." He said, regretting it when he felt her flinch. "Right, sorry. I'm just no good at this still." He told her quickly, rubbing circles into her back. They stood like that for a minute longer before the Doctor seemed to notice the small family's presence. "Oh, hello." He told them, pulling away from Rose, keeping an arm around her waist. "Hello baby." He said to the bundle in Rory's arms, unable to smile at her.

"Melody." Amy clarified.

"Melody?" he asked with a smile, walking forward and pulling Rose with him. "Hello, Melody Pond." He said, playing with one of her fists.

"Melody Williams." Rory said.

"Is a geography teacher." Amy told him, rolling her eyes. "Melody Pond is a superhero." She said, smiling own at her daughter. The Doctor smiled before turning to Rory.

"Permission to hug?" he asked.

"Permission granted." Rory said with a slight laugh. The Doctor released Rose's waist to pull Amy in for a tight hug before he pulled away.

"Now!" The Doctor said loudly, pulling Rose in again. "We should get back to the TARDIS, I have a present for the superhero." He said looking down at Rose happily. She glanced up at him before looking out of the window. Rose nodded slightly and the Doctor made a happy sound before pulling her towards the door with the Ponds following. The Doctor pulled her down the stairs where they waited for the Ponds before racing off again. Rose waited at the edge of the main room as the Doctor ran into the center of the room, straight into the wall of the TARDIS. The Doctor fell back a couple feet from the wall of the TARDIS from the force of the blow. Rose watched him, her hand covering her mouth. She stared at his splayed form on the floor, his groans grew louder the longer he laid there.

Rose stared at him a second longer before a small giggle escaped her throat. She gasped and his head shot up to stare at her. A large grin slowly worked its way across his face before he lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, causing the doors of the TARDIS to swing open. Rose looked at the light that was pouring out of the box and took an involuntary step towards it. The Doctor jumped up and held his hand out to her, wriggling his fingers like his last body had done. She ran towards him and it was now her turn to drag him into the TARDIS.

* * *

As soon as she stepped into the TARDIS, Rose immediately stopped running. The Doctor stepped around her, and with a quick glance to make sure she was all right, he ran underneath the console. The TARDIS hummed loudly and the time rotor glowed when Rose walked through the doors. Rose smiled lightly to herself, caressing the wall near her. She found him digging in what seemed to be compartments around a column that supported the console.

"I missed you too, old girl." She whispered before she set off to find the Doctor.

"So what are you looking for?" she asked, squatting down next to him. These compartments were also larger on the inside, for the Doctor seemed to be digging down so far that half of his body was submerged.

"Yeah, Doctor. What are you looking for?" Amy asked, bouncing while walking. The TARDIS hummed when they walked in and Melody began fussing.

"I already told you. It's a present for your daughter!" he shouted, still searching deep in the compartment.

"Doctor, do you think you could shut something off? I don't think Melody appreciates the TARDIS noise." Amy asked, shushing her daughter.

"Yes, Amelia Pond, I'll get right on that. But what do you suppose I'll use to fix the major hole in the fabric of time that would cause." He said sarcastically and Rose could hear him rolling his eyes. Amy huffed before taking Melody out of the console room. Rose smiled up at her and looked down at the Doctor.

"That was rude."

"Yea. And still not ginger." He told her. "Found it!" he cried before pulling himself out of the compartment. He struggled with a cot he had pulled out as he stood.

"What do you have that for?" Rose asked as he started up the stairs.

"Come on!" he said as he exited the TARDIS. Rose sighed before standing to follow him. They were already standing around the cot and Melody was laying in it.

"Where did you get a cot?" Rory asked as Rose slid in beside the Doctor.

"It's old. Really old." Amy said, sounding slightly worried to have her daughter in it. "Doctor, um, do you have children?" she asked and Rose shot her a look, a look seen by Rory, not Amy.

"No." the Doctor said, looking at Melody.

"Have you ever had children?" she pressed before Rory could stop her.

"No, it's real." He said, pulling at the back of it. "It's my hair." He said to Melody causing Rose and Amy to laugh lightly.

"Doctor, who slept in here." She asked with a smile.

"Um." He said, glancing at Rose before turning back to the Ponds. "Me, it's my cot. I slept in it." He said quietly, suddenly totally absorbed in what Melody was doing. Amy opened her mouth to speak but a voice came over the loud speaker, interrupting her.

 _Doctor? I'm receiving a transmission. I believe you should be seeing this. I'm patching it through now._ A voice said and within seconds, a woman's face floated above them. Rose flinched when she saw the eye patch and the arrogant smile. Amy took Melody from the cot and cradled her close with Rory hovering over them protectively. The Doctor pushed Rose behind is as he addressed the woman.

"Kovarian." The Doctor said, his voice the only thing betraying his anger.

 _Doctor._ She said as arrogantly as she looked. _Don't worry. I'm a long way away. But I like to keep tabs on you. And your pets._ She said, her gaze falling on Rose who shrunk even more behind the Doctor. _We can see you trying to access our files._ She laughed. _Trying being the operative word._

"What _did_ you want with Rose and Melody?" he asked, growing angry and impatient. He took a step towards the projection.

 _That's the question now, isn't it? Don't worry, you will find out in time. Although you may not like the way you do_. She said with another arrogant laugh.

"Except you've already lost them, and I swear I will never let you anywhere near wither of them again." The Doctor growled.

 _Oh Doctor._ Kovarian cooed, causing Rose's skin to crawl. _Fooling you once was a joy, but fooling you twice the same way? It's a privilege._ She finished, leveling a glare at his shocked expression before she disappeared. The Doctor spun quickly enough to see Rose dissolve once again in front of him as Amy's cries filled the air, for Melody had been taken as well.


	21. Chapter 21

Rose gasped awake and her limbs hit the walls of her cell. She ignored the pain and sat up slowly in her small cell. She added this to the growing tallies in her head of regenerations she's had. 3,361 was her grand total. Rose didn't even flinch at the high number. She stared at the wall across from her as she relived her "milestones". She hasn't seen another person since the 10th. Hasn't cried since the 300th. Rose had given up hope around tally 1,900. She stopped caring about everything when she reached 2,500. Rose leaned her head back against the wall, ignoring her protesting stomach. The one thing she hadn't stopped doing was trying to keep the memory of the Doctor alive in her mind.

Sometime around the 3,000th regeneration, her memory of the Doctor became blurred and mixed together. Once she remembered him with her first Doctor's hair and ears, her second Doctor's clothing choices, and her third Doctor's face. That was not an image that she wanted to see again. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Ever since her first day, Rose was isolated in her five by five cell with no human contact of any kind. The only time she thought she had contact with anyone was every ten years or so when they knocked her out with gas and shaved her head.

She wrapped her thin arms around her equally thin legs, huddling for warmth. Rose hadn't eaten anything since her second day. So, without her "wardens" interference, she died every few weeks from starvation and dehydration. Whenever she woke up, however, she felt full and hydrated while she remanded weak and anorexic. Rose sighed as she quickly did the math in her head.

"Nearly 194 years… Considering the circumstances, I'm looking pretty good for my age." She joked dryly.

Rose rested her head down on her arms as she remembered something from long ago. She thought back to the day she and the Doctor went to the diner and Rory had said something about her not being with the Doctor as he died. Rose sighed once more and lifted her head when she heard talking outside of her door. She jumped and skittered away when the door suddenly opened and a pair of soldiers rushed in. She covered her head, hoping for this to be a dream as one of them hit her with the butt of their gun and her vision faded into black.

* * *

"Salud!" the Doctor said happily, lifting the wine bottle he was holding. He was sitting on a blanket with Amy, Rory, and River. They were sitting next to lake Silencio in Utah. His companions followed suit, lifting their wine glasses.

"So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked, taking a sip from his glass.

"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy asked as the Doctor sniffed at the opening of the bottle cautiously.

"I'm eleven hundred and three. I must've drunk it sometime." He said before bringing the bottle up to his lips. He immediately brought it back down and spit out the liquid that had gotten into his mouth, his face twisted in a grimace. "Oh, why it's horrid. I thought it would taste more like the gums." He complained, setting the wine glass firmly in the sand.

"Speaking of wine, where's Rose?" Rory asked, looking around as if he would see her walking over the hill.

"What about wine made you think of Rose?" the Doctor asked quickly.

"When we last saw you guys, she was saying something about taking wine the next time you guys visited her mum. She started listing off the different kinds her mum liked, I figured she was something of an enthusiast."

"Well, she's not. She actually prefers…"

"Doctor." Amy said firmly, interrupting him. "Where's Rose?"

"I just…well…" he said, looking away at the sound of a car pulling up. They all turned to see an elderly man step out and wave at them. They were all shocked when the Doctor waved back at him and seemed to know the man.

"Who's he?" Amy asked, setting her glass down in the sand.

"Oh my god." River sighed and they all turned, all gasping but the Doctor when they saw an astronaut standing in knee deep water. The Doctor stood and his companions rose to join him.

"You all need to stay back. Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?" he asked, not looking away from the astronaut. He didn't wait for a reply as he began walking towards the stranger.

* * *

When Rose woke up she gasped at the drastic change in her surroundings. She tried to reach out and touch the fish that swan by her face and found that she couldn't move. Rose didn't have time to dwell on that fact when her legs started moving on their own accord. She began walking along the bottom of the lake while she frantically tried to gain control of her limbs. The light drew stronger and her head quickly broke the surface. Her eyes adjusted to the light and some twenty feet away she saw four people sitting on a blanket. One turned and spotted her, Rose tried to raise her hand in acknowledgement but still found herself unable to move. One of the figures stood up and rose felt her breath catch in her throat when she recognized him.

It was the Doctor. _Her_ Doctor. After all of this time, and with his correct parts. The others stood with him and she guessed they were Rory, Amy, and River. She paid no mind to them as the Doctor slowly made his way over to her alone. She began moving again, towards the Doctor, and she felt her heart racing in her chest. They met halfway and turned to face each other.

* * *

"Hello." He told her with a sad smile on his face. "It's okay. I know it's you." He said. After a second of her not moving, the Doctor moved to lift the visor. He felt his hearts clench when he saw who was under the visor. He took an involuntary step back. "Ok, never mind. I didn't know it was you." He said, breathless. Pain and surprise flashed across Rose's face when he stepped back, he quickly made up the loss. "I was expecting someone else. Oo, that's a new feeling, being wrong." He said offhandedly.

"Doctor." Rose said sadly and he looked back up at her.

"Oh Rose, I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry." He said, his hand coming up to stroke her face.

"Doctor, what's happening." She asked as her arm began to raise.

"It's alright. You are forgiven. You won't remember this anyway." He assured her, his eyes watching her hand.

* * *

Rose watched in horror as the suit around her pulsed and she felt the energy leave through her extended finger, hitting the Doctor straight in the chest.

"NO!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. The golden airy light that Rose has only seem once began to form around the Doctor and he looked at her, fear very present in his eyes. Rose screamed as she felt the suit pulse once more and she shot the Doctor in the middle of his regeneration, killing him. Rose stared at the Doctor flew away from her, landing on his back. Suddenly, the suit unzipped down the front and Rose fell forward onto the sand. She was slightly aware of other people around her but she could only see the Doctor lying lifeless in the sand.

Amy's wails were the only thing to reach her. As they did she fully realized what happened and she crawled away as fast as she could.

_Snap._

It wasn't something physical that snapped but Rose heard something snap within her and she fell face first into the sand in a fit of giggles. She felt someone flip her onto her back as she kept laughing. She continued laughing until she felt something smack her cheek. She clutched her cheek and looked innocently up at a very angry looking Amy Pond.

"The Doctor's dead. This is not the time for laughing." She said, tears still falling from her eyes. "Especially from the one who killed him." Amy leveled a glare at her.

_Snap._

Rose stared up at Amy, hearing another snap. Instead of laughing she began to sing a song that was long forgotten. A song they played over and over in the time she spent in her large room.

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, and what then shall we play?_

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, now winter's gone away?_

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, when will that day come?_

_Tick Tock, Until the day, thou shall break me free._

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, and all the years_

_Tick Tock, And all too soon, you and I must die._

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, We laughed at fate and teased her._

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, even for the Doctor._

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, he grabbed her hand and ran._

_Tick Tock, Goes the clock, 'Til Tyler kills the Doctor._

Rose finished the song and began humming it again and Amy, River, and Rory all stared at the broken woman sitting at their feet. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They all jumped when Rose suddenly jumped up and ran off towards the hills.

"Rose!" Rory yelled, but she ignored his cry and continued running with everything she had.

* * *

Rose sat at the dinner table with Amy and Rory. Not long after what had happened with the Doctor they moved her in with them. They had a spacious three story house, it was originally only two but they added the room when Rose came to live with them. They usually left her to her own devices, unless she was having a bad day. She usually had them every week and it had been eight days since her last one. She poked at her food and she felt the Ponds staring at the top of her head. The meal was all but silent except for the radio playing in the background. Rose hardly paid attention to it as the DJ began playing another song. They all sat in awkward silence as the song began.

 _A hot summer night, fell like a net_ _I've gotta find my baby yet_ _I need you to soothe my head_ _Turn my blue heart read…_

A man sang and Rose tensed, recognizing the song. Rory quickly turned and tried to shut it off, recognizing one of her triggers. He wasn't fast enough and the man began the next verse.

_Doctor, doctor give me the news_

_I've got a bad case of lovin' youuu…_

Rose put her silverware down and wiped her face with her napkin, though she didn't eat anything. "Why'd you turn it off?" she asked in a too calm voice.

"I was just a little sick of it." Rory supplied weakly, turning back to his meal.

"There are other people in the room you know." She said angrily, throwing her napkin down. "You told me when I first got here that it was a group decision when we turned it on or off. You lied." She leveled an angry glare at him. "Don't be like _him_."

"Rose, it's no big deal." Amy tried, setting her silverware down as well.

"No! It's not!" Rose screamed, her chair screeching on the wood as she stood quickly. " _He_ lied to me. He said that I wouldn't remember. I wouldn't remember a thing." She scoffed. She began pacing the room, clutching at her hair. "I remember everything…EVERYTHING!" she screeched, tears in her eyes. "Months without him, dying every day. When I was able to see him again, I was taken again for nearly 200 years!" she saw the Ponds recoil from that. "I had 200 years of no human contact. I died nearly _4,000_ times! The first person I touched afterward was _him_ , right before I shot him." She pulled at her hair and swallowed a scream. "The Silence did something to me. Made me remember." She said suddenly, turning to face the shocked faces of the Ponds.

"R-Rose, the Silence work their way out of your mind with post-hypnotic impressions of what they want you to do. There's…" Rory tried.

"I was there!" she yelled. "They did. Ever since I woke up the first time without him I've had this." She turned and parted her hair so they could see part of the jagged scar that ran crookedly down the back of her head. She heard them both gasp before she turned back around.

"Rose, I get what you're trying to say. But I'm not even sure if that's the right area for the memory centers of the brain. They'd have to be cr…" Rory trailed off under Rose's glare.

"Crazy?!" she demanded. "You don't know what kind of equipment they have to work their way in my brain. That why I got the headaches, don't you see? It was the pain I felt from them taking the longest and hardest path possible to reach their goal." She said angrily before she stormed up stairs and into her room. Amy sighed, her head falling into her hands.

* * *

A couple hours later, Amy sat outside with her husband, a bottle of wine between them.

"What made you move to turn off the radio? I'm almost certain you've never heard that song before." Amy asked, breaking the comfortable silence that they had been sitting in.

"I haven't. I just know that hearing blue is a trigger for her so I went to turn it off. I had no idea what would be next." He sighed. Amy nodded, taking a sip of her wine. They both knew how touchy Rose could be. When they first arrived at the house, Rose had gotten a meat hammer from the kitchen and tried to destroy their fireplace, screaming about a woman from France. Amy also had to go shopping alone now, Rose wasn't able to pass by window shop dummies without attempting to tackle them or run away. Any mention of the color blue, fezzes, bowties, glasses, suits, trainers, leather jackets, and just about anything else the Doctor wore was out of the question.

"I think it might be time to bring in professional help." Rory continued. Amy set her glass on the small table next to her and leaned back, closing her eyes.

"You remember why we agreed not to. One word and we wouldn't be able to see her again. Besides, the only doctor that would be able to help her is gone." She sighed.

"Actually, he's here." Rory said.

"That's not funny Rory." She told him.

"Actually Amy, what you said wasn't so funny." A voice said, an achingly familiar voice. Amy shot up and saw the Doctor looking at her, a smirk on his face. "As you can see, I'm right here." She jumped off of her chair and ran up to him, unsure of whether to punch him or hug him.

"Oh my god!" she cried before choosing to hug him. She quickly pulled away and landed a slap on his right cheek. He cradled it and stared down at her.

"Ow!" he cried.

"That's for Rose. You have _no_ idea of what's she's been through."

"I know. But, if I saw her I could apologize to her in person." The Doctor said cheekily.

"She's had a rough night but I'll go see if she's willing to come down." She told him before turning around.

"So how'd you do that without the noise?" Rory asked as his wife skipped off.

"Engines on silent. Last time I do that. It's no fun at all."

* * *

Amy quickly ran up the stairs and up to Rose's room, knocking as she reached the door. There was no answer.

"Rose?" Amy called, not used to no answer from her. At the very least she yelled at them to leave her alone. "Rose, are you alright?" she asked before opening the door. She gasped and immediately turned from the room. "DOCTOR!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She heard two sets of feet running up the stairs. "It's Rose, she's gone." She told him as he reached her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all she wrote. I do have a few chapters of a sequel written but I'm not sure if I want to focus on writing that with my other unfinished stories and it's been two years since I've written anything for this story.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it! Sorry for the spam and I sincerely apologize for the huge wait for the, like, 80% of this story that was left. Please let me know what you thought and call me out for any mistakes you see. This was one of my first stories that I've ever written and the first time I dipped my two into anything angsty. Now I happily swim in it.
> 
> Thank you again for putting in the time to read this!!


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